What Dreams May Come
by Jon'ic Recheio
Summary: "Answer the question." Daniel silkily replied, his blue eyes bore into O'Neill's brown ones demanding a truthful answer, the only answer O'Neill didn't want to give him. SG1 Stargate Atlantis crossover DISCONTINUED
1. The Begining

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1, however I do own Draco, Eilyanna, Rohahn, Kynan, Shaakren, and Patrick O'Neill

* * *

It was late when a green Ford F-250 pulled up to the 24 hour ATM. The man who jumped out of the vehicle was in a hurry as he jogged up to the machine. He had on a brown cap, jeans, and a heavy grayishcolored jacket. It was late fall and the temperature had started to drop and the leaves turn. Quickly the man filled out the envelope and stuffed the bill inside. He obviously did not want to be there for long, that much was apparent by his body language.

He finished the transaction and made his way to the car, only to discover that in his haste, he had left the keys in the ignition. A round of curses warmed the night air as the man tried to find a way into car. He climbed into the back truck and opened the window, crawling into the small space he was inside the cab of his truck. In perfect line for a shot as well, the sniper sneered down the barrel of his gun, time to earn his pay.

One shot rang out seemingly from nowhere and the man collapsed against the seats, blood seeping from the wound in his back. Satisfied that he was dead the shooter packed up his gear and left the post he had taken three hours earlier. Finally Jack O'Neill was no more. His job was done, now he had to report back with the news and get his payment that he had earned. Five million for one man, and he didn't know why. Other than the fact he was a Major General in the US Air Force. Some solider…

* * *

Daniel Jackson was peering intently at an alien artifact brought back by SG-9. It was a perfect sphere with writing on it he had yet to decipher. The lines seemed no more that shapes, but he was certain they were more than that, they had to be. The sphere was emitting a slight EM field so they had to mean something; at least he hoped they did. 

The phone in his office rang just as he was about to touch the object. Jumping back startled he almost knocked over a glass statue from yet another planet. Taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart he picked up the phone.

"Dan Jackson." He said into the receiver.

"General Landry wants to see you in the briefing room." The voice on the other end told him, he recognized it as Sergeant Walter Harriman.

"Thank you, Walter." Daniel put the phone back into the cradle and walked out of his office, wondering what the new General could possibly want him for.

* * *

"What?" Daniel could barely hear Colonel Mitchell's words over the ringing in his ears. Jack dead? No, it couldn't be, it just wasn't possible. His best friend, who he hardly got to hear from anymore, was dead. It could not be true, someone must be trying to get at them, to hurt them, bring them down something! Shot he was shot, in his car at the bank in the dead of night. They said the sniper got him from the building across the street judging by the trajectory. 

"Dead?" Mitchell stuttered. "Why the hell would someone want to kill General O'Neill?"

"It could have been any number of things." Landry replied. "He did have a habit of making enemies."

"Yeah." Daniel breathed. Then a thought occurred. "Oh god!Has any one told Sam?"

"They have not." Teal'c seemed more troubled by this. "She will not take the news well."

"Oh and we did!" Daniel's question was rhetorical. Everyone else was silent; trying to put the pieces together in their own minds before helping anyone else finish their puzzles.

* * *

It was dark where he was, that much he knew, but that was about it. He couldn't see anything from where he was, and couldn't feel the rest of his body either. The last thing that Jack O'Neill could remember was being shot in the back of his truck in Washington DC. That thought brought the feeling back in his limbs and they started to ache, badly. 

"Ah!" he groaned softly. Carefully the General stretched out his limbs trying to ease the bad case of pins and needles he seemed to suddenly have devolved. He also noticed that it was light out and he was lying on green grass. The sky overhead was an intense blue, with a few scattered clouds. He was in some sort of clearing because he could see trees out of the corner of his eyes.

Suddenly he heard and animal like snort. Sitting up rather quickly made his head spin, but he ignored it, carefully looking for the maker of the sound he had heard. What he found was not what he had expected. It was a dragon. A pure white Dragon, not one hundred feet from where he currently sat in his blue jeans, white shirt, cap and jacket.

"Okay…" he said softly. "I think I've gone insane."

The dragon cocked its head at him, its golden eyes shining with what he could swear was laughter. Its gold claws and wing tips glinted off the sun, making it look all that more imposing, despite the fact that it was at least twenty feet tall. "No, young one, you are not insane."

O'Neill blinked, then blinked again. It could talk? Was the only thought he could get into some kind of order. Not only was it coming towards him the damn thing could talk! Whoa wait, dragon walking towards you O'Neill move it! He scrambled to his feet just as the thing got to about five feet from him. He gulped and stared up at it, it still looked like it was laughing at him, but he could also see a hint of sadness in its eyes.

Sadness? That's strange, it's a dragon, but why is it looking at me like that? "Uh…" O'Neill stuttered uselessly. "Err…hi…?"

The dragon chuckled lightly. "You need not fear young one, I will not harm you." Jack just stared back at the winged giant wondering what the hell the clerk laced his coffee with.

"Yeah, well, from where I'm standing it sure doesn't look that way." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I am sure, O'Neill." The dragon smirked at him. Wait smirked! Damn cocky thing! "But I assure you I will cause you no harm."

"You know my name?" Jack gave the dragon a surprised look. "I don't think I can return the favor, buddy."

"Draco." The dragon spoke softly, almost sorrowfully; O'Neill could see the sadness had once again replaced the laughter in the mighty beast's eyes. "I am Draco."

The General swallowed. "Okay, Draco, why am I here, where in the hell is here, and how did you get me here in the first place?"

* * *

Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter was in a state of shock. General O'Neill was dead, shot in the back in his truck. She drew in a shaky breath and looked up from her study of the floor. She could see the same emotions mirrored in Daniel's eyes that were in hers as well. Good god! Someone had killed him, he was gone! Dead never to come back! So many regrets flooded her mind, so many things she wished she'd done, things that she should have and things that she would never do. 

"Why?" She whispered. "Why would someone do this?"

"There are many reasons Colonel Carter." Teal'c replied stoically. "One of those being O'Neill's recent promotion to head of Home World Security."

"He got to powerful to control." Jackson thought aloud. "Whoever killed him wanted him dead because they couldn't manipulate him anymore."

"But the question still remains." Mitchell supplied. "Who?"

"Indeed."

* * *

"The answer to your first question is simple, you would be dead if I hadn't." Draco stated the fact as if he was giving a lecture, it was obvious that fact bothered him, deeply, and O'Neill wondered why. Why was he so important to this…dragon? "To answer your second question we are in another dimension. How I brought you here was quiet simple, I connected to your mind and brought you with me when I shifted back to my home dimension, where we are now." 

General O'Neill looked up at the white beast in a state of semi-confusion. "You can go from dimension to dimension?" He peered up at the dragon questioningly, the beast nodded. "Okay…why me? Why did you save me?"

"You are important, young pup." Draco said carefully. "Too important to Eilyanna and I to die."

"Eilyanna?" O'Neill questioned. "Who is she?"

"My mate." Draco replied, his expression guarded. "There is much you have to learn, come." Dragon began to walk away; O'Neill stared dumbly at his retreating back. Then he ran to catch up not wanting to be left behind in a strange place he knew nothing about. What in the world did he have to learn that these Dragons could teach him?

* * *

Well, this is the first chapter, tell me what ya think! If ya hate it then I won't post anymore chapters, if ya like it then I will. However when I run out of stuff that I have alread written the next chapter will be a long time coming...just a fair warning... 


	2. Revelations

Oh, quick little note, This hasn't been beta'd by anyone so if you find any errors they're mine. I tried my best to correct spelling and grammar errors and anything you do find shouldn't be very big, probably a missing letter or a comma in the wrong place.

* * *

The funeral ended with Jack's father being presented with the flag. His mother had died in a car crash when he was twelve and his father was his only living relative. It was the first time SG-1 had met him, he seemed in good shape for a man of seventy-three. Infact he really didn't look a day over sixty, which Daniel thought was odd. But then when he thought about it, it really wasn't. He remembered Jack really hadn't changed much in all the years he'd known him.

Patrick O'Neill certainly was Jack's father, that much he could tell just by looking at him. His eyes were the same deep brown as his dear friend. He was the same height and relatively the same build, thought Jack always seemed slightly scrawnier. Not that Jack was skinny; his muscles always seemed more sinewy, not like Teal'c's bulk.

"Mr. O'Neill." Daniel greeted with a quickly nod. "He was a good man, you should be proud of him."

"I am." Patrick said softly. "I know Kate would have been too, if she had lived to see him grow up."

Daniel looked away, somewhat guilty for dragging up old memories. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up…"

"It's okay." Patrick smiled lightly, but lacked the warmth that it should have held. "That was a long time ago, Dr. Jackson."

"Daniel." He quickly inserted.

"Then you have to call me Patrick, or Pat, whichever suits your fancy." Mr. O'Neill turned towards his late son's friend. "He spoke highly of you, all of you, and I can see why."

Daniel blushed lightly; he merely nodded his thanks at the complement. He glanced over at Sam, who was standing with General Hammond, retired, and Teal'c. They all seemed drained, tired, and worn. He could feel the sadness all the way to his bones. It was like when Sha're had died, but it seemed somehow worse, and he couldn't understand why, maybe because he knew Jack for so long, that his friendship was something he never thought he could ever loose. Jack had always been there for him, and now he would never been seen or heard from again.

That thought sent a fresh shot of pain down to his gut; he almost flinched beneath the strength of it. God! He was really gone! Jack O'Neill was really dead. The thought was a cold dark one he never wanted to think again, but knew that he would, he couldn't not.

* * *

FOUR MONTHS LATER 

Jack O'Neill felt like a whole new man, and that was the puzzling thing. He could do things he'd never dreamed of, like shift through dimensions, which was a weird feeling. He'd met Eilyanna, a golden dragon with black claws and eyes. She had a wicked sense of humor as he'd soon discovered after five minutes of talking too her. But yet, he saw that same sadness in her eyes at times too. He'd called the two dragons on it but they had yet to answer him, they either ignored the question or changed the topic of the conversation.

It frustrated him to no end because he knew he was the cause, yet he couldn't figure how or why! Why did these two seem so interested in him, how did they know so much about him, and how could he do all of these amazing things? And for what? To lie around all day contemplating the clouds? He couldn't see that as the reason Draco rescued him, not at all.

He knew the dragon quite well, and it wasn't in his nature to do something without a reason, even if it wasn't readily apparent at the time. And Jack O'Neill was getting a big sense of that now, because of the events of the last four months. He lived in the caves with these beasts; he slept curled into Eilyanna's side with her wing over him, to keep him warm, and yet he didn't know why.

And if things were going to continue on the path they had started on then he wouldn't know until he left. He knew he was going to leave, soon, he could feel it. Every time he thought about it, but he didn't want to leave. He liked it here with them and for some strange reason he felt like he knew them all his life, like he belonged here, in this peaceful world.

That had to be the strangest part. He wasn't a dragon, he didn't fit in here, or at least he shouldn't, but he did. That was the oddest thing. It reminded him of dreams he had when he was a child. Of vast meadows like this one, with hundreds of dragons of all colors and sizes grazing, playing, fighting, and generally going about their daily lives. It was odd how he had dreamt this, at least up until his mother died.

Those were some hard times, with only him and his father in their house in Chicago. The little house seemed dead, void of life, which was why in a year they sold it and moved to the little cabin in Minnesota his grandparents owned. It became his hideaway when he joined the Air Force. When he came home to his father and walked into the door, a sense of peace seemed to come over him and all his worries were checked out at the door.

"Jack!" he looked up from his study of the ground below the cliff and into Eilyanna's eyes. "There you are, pup!" She smirked. "I had wondered where you'd wondered too."

"Just lookin'." He answered back with a smile. He watched as Eilyanna's wings pumped to keep the mighty beast in the air. He flew with them once, over the meadows, and he saw the images from his dreams. It had startled him, more than the fact he could fly.More than the facthe could light a campfire with a snap of his fingers, and turn a stone into a twig. These were only some of the things his dragon mentors where teaching him. He'd learned so much, yet he felt he had so much more to learn.

"Come fly with me, pup." Eilyanna blew a puff of smoke from her nostrils. That was another thing, they had taken to calling him 'pup' which he thought was slightly odd, but he liked it none the less, which was almost weirder. Jack smiled and took off after the fast moving Mother Dragon. They flew over the forest and towards the mountains, where he spotted Draco and a reddish brown dragon he'd come to know as Rohahn waiting for them.

"O'Neill." Rohahn greeted. "We have come to a decision."

"About?" O'Neill prompted after a silence.

"About…" Draco stopped, suddenly unsure of himself. "The truth of who you really are."

"What?" Jack asked softly. "Is this about that question you kept avoiding?"

"Yes, pup." Eilyanna answered. She looked away from his eyes a moment before glancing back. They were standing a rocky cliff that suddenly seemed too small to O'Neill. "You are not from Earth."

Jack blinked, then blinked again. Not from Earth? What the hell? "What do you mean!" he demanded hotly. "What do you mean I'm not from Earth? I was born there dammit!"

"Yes, you were." Draco replied. "So don't let any of this give you the idea that you weren't. What we're saying is…" Draco stopped. "You are our son."

There was a pregnant, and uncomfortable silence. "How?" was the only word O'Neill was able to speak.

"We were in danger." Eilyanna answered. "We had to flee dimensions, we were fighting a war, still are. It was no place to raise a pup."

Draco took up the tale. "So we sent you to Earth, where you would be safe, that was the only galaxy left untouched at the time."

"So what?" O'Neill snapped. "How am I the son of humans, and you?"

"Your soul, what makes you who you are is what we sent." Eilyanna answered. "You do not have the soul, or inner spirit of a human, it is what gives you your strength. Just because we made you human does not mean we could completely change what you are."

"Like the rock and the twig." O'Neill mumbled. "It was almost like a wooden rock, it wasn't like the others."

"Yes." Rohahn supplied. "I see you have grasped this concept, somewhat."

"No," O'Neill breathed, "I haven't." He bounced on the balls of his feet. "I still don't understand. Am I a dragon?"

"Inside of you?" Draco answered. "Yes, you are. On the outside, you are human, the same as your friends."

Suddenly, the stunned General felt a burning sensation on his right arm. He fell to his knees clutching it, then as suddenly as it had come the pain was gone. He glanced down at his arm and saw a tattoo of sorts, going from his wrist to his elbow. It was of a black dragon in mid dive with flames spiraling around it, in full color.

"Whoa…" He traced the dragontattoo with a fingertip. Glancing up at Draco and Eilyanna he noticed a look of pride in their eyes. "Is that…me?"

"Yes," Eilyanna answered simply, "it is."

* * *

Well, this is the second chapter, please drop me a line and tell me what ya think. Yes, I know it was a very weird chapter and this story is only going to get weirder (is that word?) so just a warning. Though, I think this is the strangest part of the story, if you can read this and not his the 'back' button then you could finish the rest, I hope. 


	3. Homecoming

Well, here we go again! Round and round and round and round and round and round we go never stopping untill time stands still.

* * *

ONE MONTH LATER

"Go back?" O'Neill cried incredulously. "Are you nuts? I can't leave here! I won't leave here!"

"You must!" Draco shot back. "If you do not, things will happen that were not meant to happen, my pup! You must go!"

"But I-" O'Neill stopped when a deadly glare was leveled at him. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "Okay."

Draco nodded. "Then send yourself back." He took O'Neill's jacket in his mouth and handed it to the reluctant Phase Shifter. His pup shrugged it on to hide the tattoo on his arm then reached up and ran his hand over Draco's head. "I will miss you, pup."

"As will I." Eilyanna answered sorrowfully. She gave him a tight smile, well a dragon smile. "Now go."

"I'll come back when I can." Jack vowed. "You can count on it." With those last words ringing in the Mother and Father Dragon's ears he was gone in a small flash of blue-ish-white light.

* * *

ONE DAY LATER

Jack O'Neill looked around the small apartment. He had rented it under the fake name of Jon Anderson. It was close to his old house in the springs. It brought up some old memories from long ago; they seemed like a dream with all that had happened to him in the last five months. The apartment was moderate in size, about 1000 square feet with two rooms and an adjoining bathroom.

The kitchen was kinda small for his taste butit would suit his needs for now. The living room held a couch and an entertainment center with a thirty-inch TV. Almost as big as the one in his old house. He owned nothing, as all of it went to his team, his father, and Sara. What he hadn't given to them went to the local homeless shelter.

He set down his shopping bags full of clothes by the couch and walked to his bedroom with the other bag that held his new 9mm berretta and ammo, along with a sniper rifle and ten rounds to go with it until he could buy more. He didn't need it right away, but he would need it sometime, he just knew it. After stashing his weapons in a safe place in his bedroom he walked out into the main room of his abode.

"Well, here I am." He said to an empty room. "Now to return from the dead." Closing his eyes he pictured the briefing room of the SGC. The memories were fresh in his mind now and he felt the familiar tingle of teleportation. When he opened his eyes he found the room empty, like he hoped it'd be. Smirking at his timing he heard voices that he hadn't heard in sometime. He looked towards the stair entrance from the control room as first Mitchell, then Teal'c, Carter and Daniel walked into the room.

Teal'c was the first to notice him. "O'Neill?" he said, staring at him in awe. The conversation halted as the other three of the room's occupants turned to gawk at him as well. "Is it you?"

He smiled lightly. "Yeah, I'm here."

Daniel swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Oh god!" He rushed over and grabbed his friend in a tight hug, almost crushing O'Neill's ribs. "You're alive!"

"Jack!" Sam said softly. She too walked over, and as Daniel let go she held on to him as if he would disappear if she let go. "We thought you were dead…" She stammered when O'Neill pushed back. "We…thought…"

"I'm fine, Sam." He breathed into her hair. "I'm here, I fine, I'm not goin' anywhere."

"Oh god!" She softly exclaimed into his shoulder. "Oh please don't do that again!"

Jack slowly pulled away to look into her eyes for a moment. They were shining with tears she was trying desperatly to keep in place. Giving her a small reasuring smile he turned to one grinning Cameron Mitchell. His smirk widened. "Hey, Mitchell."

"General." Mitchell thumped him on the back. "It's good to see you sir, but if you don't mind my asking, how the hell did you get here?"

"I had help." The General replied. He looked towards the stunned General Landry, who had just entered the room. "Don't look so stunned, Hank! It'll take more than some dumbass sniper to kill me."

Daniel smiled at that comment. "You're back!"

"Yeah, I am." O'Neill grinned from ear to ear.

"How?" Carter asked, she gave him a calculating look, her military mask firmly back in place."And further more where have you been?"

"Yes, pray tell." Jackson said, unconsciously channeling his friend.

"Uh…well…" O'Neill stopped and Landry fixed him with a look as well. "I had some help, from well…"

"You are uncertain?" Teal'c voiced held some disbelief.

"Um…well, lets just say I was on another plain of existence and leave it at that." O'Neill licked his suddenly dry lips. "However, I have some news on the Ori. Seems they are hated by more than just the Ancients."

"Alterans." Daniel corrected.

"Whatever." O'Neill dismissed. "The…people…that I was with were fighting them too apparently. It seems they are more than you see at first glance."

"What are they?" Landry asked, now very interested in what was being discussed. Quickly everyone took a seat at the table.

"Well, they are ascended, sort of." O'Neill started. "The only reason they put out the 'religion' front is to recruit soldiers. They're fighting a war out there."

"We kinda figured that much." Mitchell answered.

"Yeah, but what you don't know is the reason the Ancients don't interfere is because one, they can't, and two they don'thave anyone to spare. They're fighting a war and humans aren't thier main concern." General O'Neill sighed. "However, the people I met think that we are worth thier time. Look, I can't explain it in anymore detail, but I do know that now that they know we're here, things are going to happen."

There was silence, then Daniel spoke. "That does not sound good."

"Indeed."

"That's not all." O'Neill shifted nervously in his seat. "The Ancients protect this galaxy but I don't think they will be able to for long." He paused a moment letting the information sink in. "The Pegasus galaxy is in trouble too, and in their eyes Atlantis is more important."

"What about Oma?" Daniel asked carefully. "Won't she be able to help?"

"See, that's the thing." Jack answered. "When she went off and fought Anubis she disappeared. Not even my new…friends know where she went."

"That's bad." Mitchell spoke what was on everyone's mind at the moment.

"Very." General O'Neill sighed. "Because she was in charge of Earth."

"Oh shit." Daniel mumbled. "This is not good. You mean the Ori are going to come here?"

"They're going to try." O'Neill spat. "And if we have any say in it, they won't."

* * *

O'Neill leaned against the headboard of his bed in his new SGC quarters. General Landry hadn't granted him security clearance to leave the base, and he wondered why. Most likely because you just 'appeared' in the briefing room. He thought dejectedly. And because you wouldn't tell them how or why either. You couldn't even tell them where you'd been! No wonder they're holding you O'Neill!

He held back a growl of frustration. He was stuck in these damn quarters, had been for nearly two hours! He wanted to leave, but knew better than to just shift out. That would make everything worse, much worse. O'Neill glared at the far wall, trying to take his mind off the thoughts, then another occurred to him. What about his Dad? Patrick O'Neill was probably up at the cabin where he hadn't been in so long, it was winter after all, and he would want to spend Christmas with some of his friends.

A knock at the door startled O'Neill out of his musings. Pushing up and off the bed he walked to the door, instinctively knowing who was behind it. He opened the door to reveal no other than Daniel Jackson. He friend seemed tired, if not slightly angry. Great, Jack thought as he stepped aside to let his friend in. I am so going to get chewed a new one!

"Daniel." He said plainly.

"Jack." His friend answered back pointedly.

"So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" O'Neill asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Why didn't you tell us you were okay?" Jackson exploded; he couldn't hold back his anger anymore. "You were gone for five months! Five months we all thought you for dead! Jesus Jack! What about Sam, and your father? Can you imagine how they must have felt? God, Jack!"

"I'm sorry, Daniel." Jack cut him off. "But I couldn't tell you were I was, not because I didn't want to but I couldn't! I had no way of communicating, and believe me there were times when it drove my hosts nuts!"

Daniel looked away, wrapping his arms around his mid section. Glancing back up at his friend he spoke softly. "Where were you Jack? Why can't you tell us?"

"I…" He stopped. "Daniel…I can't tell you because I don't know. I was on another plane of existence, a whole other dimension! I honestly don't know which one or where it is, but I know I was there."

"Who are your friends?" Daniel asked. "And why keep you for so long?"

"They're…" O'Neill sighed. "Dragons." He said quietly. "Their names are Eilyanna and Draco."

"Eilyanna and Draco?" Daniel said in disbelief. "The Mother and Father Dragons? The Creators of myth and legend?"

O'Neill nodded dumbly.

"Why you?" Jackson asked bluntly.

"I don't know." Jack breathed. Well that was the biggest lie if I ever told one, he thought ruefully. "They never said."

Daniel glared. "Fine, you don't want to tell us, that's just fine!" he turned and walked swiftly to the door, then he stopped and turned back to look at his once dead friend. "Sam wants to see you, so does Teal'c, and not for the same reasons." With that comment he walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

Okay, those of you that wanted to see ship will have to wait for a bit. Because events are about to start rollin'. Don't worry, I will try to get some in here soon but I wouldn't count on it if I were you. You may have to wait a bit. I did try in this chapter and there will be more but it will be subtle becasue the focus of this story is not Sam/Jack ship, it's O'Neill and the Dragon's fight with the Ori. Just a fair warning becasue any ship at all will be the B or C story.

Depressing stuff aside, please review!


	4. Turning Point

And now on with chapter four...the intrigue shall begin here, and the stage is now set for the Atlantis crew to make thier appearance...

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

O'Neill ducked as another punch was thrown in his direction. It seemed the bar fight had suddenly gotten out of hand, it reminded him of an incident in the same restaurant five years ago. They had been given the armbands to wear for an experiment, which turned out, was a mission in disguise from their lovely friends the Tok'ra.

O'Neill swung back at the guy hitting him square in the jaw knocking him out cold. The man had flown some five feet through the air before landing, stopping the fight immediately. Jack stared at the man slumped against the pool table in some amount of shock. He had no idea he was this strong! And he hadn't really hit the guy that hard either, which was a startling thought.

"Jack?" Daniel asked stunned. He gave his friend a look.

"I-I don't…" The General stopped. "Well, at least we won't get banned this time."

Cameron Mitchell laughed at that one. "You were banned from O'Malley's?"

"Indeed." Teal'c answered, with a smirk on his face. Mitchell's smile widened at that comment.

"They didn't let us back in until two years later." Carter informed him with a smile on her face as well. She turned to her CO. "Sir? Are you okay?"

O'Neill was still staring at the unconscious drunk man who had picked a fight with him. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He sniffed in a breath and turned back to his friends. "Sorry, I got lost in thought."

Jackson's face was one of slight disbelief. "Really? Maybe you were thinking about telling us how you launched that guy five feet through the air?"

Teal'c cocked his head to one side, and Mitchell stood with his arms crossed staring at the General whom he had come to call friend. Carter looked bewildered a moment, then quickly caught on, her expression one of curiosity. The four people staring him down were hard pressed to stop, as O'Neill quickly noticed. He figured a little espionage was in order.

"I honestly don't know Daniel." He shrugged. "Besides what's it matter? We got saved being banned forever from our favorite restaurant."

Daniel glared back at him with an exasperated expression on his face. "Jack."

"Daniel?" O'Neill gave him his patented 'who me?' look.

"Answer the question." He silkily replied, his blue eyes bore into O'Neill's brown ones demanding a truthful answer, the only answer O'Neill didn't want to give him.

"I did." O'Neill's answer was just as smooth as Jackson's. "What more do you want?"

"The truth would be nice." Mitchell interjected unhelpfully. Teal'c glared over at him, making Carter smile slightly again.

"I told you the truth." O'Neill answered in a distinctive deadpan.

"I do not understand this O'Neill." Teal'c spoke for the first time breaking the silence. "You must know, it was you who did it."

"No." O'Neill's stance turned defensive. "I'm not going to answer this question," he turned his menacing gaze towards Daniel, "So quit askin'!"

Daniel took an involuntary step back at the look in O'Neill's eyes, and Teal'c stood ready for an attack. Mitchell and Carter shared a quick glance, realizing that they were dealing with an unknown variable in their friend that wasn't there before.

O'Neill seemed to realize just as they did that he had set off his teammates internal alarms. His gaze remained steady, despite the fact that he knew this would be the biggest fork in the road he had come too in a long time, his friends included. They were all at an impasse, staring him down, trying to decide which path to take, weigh the pros and cons. He could see their minds working in their eyes, just as his was.

He shifted his gaze over to Carter, and he noticed an emotion in her eyes that he knew well, determination. She was firm in the decision that she was about to make, even if it drastically changed her life from then on, his included. This moment was an important moment that would make or break all of them, a battle of wills that would decide the fate if the universe. And it was happening in O'Malley's Bar and Grill.

It seemed somehow fitting, to lose or gain the greatest things for them all in the place were they were brought together in the first place. It was there familiar ground that was being trampled in this infinitesimal moment. The moment stretched on, the patrons in the restaurant were unaware that their future was being decided here. The pieces fell into place in O'Neill's mind suddenly, and he knew what he had to do.

His shifted again, stepping down from his position; the menacing look vanished as quickly as it had come. His eyes were no longer dark and threatening, but the usual chocolate brown that had captured many a heart. Mitchell and Carter backed down and soon after Teal'c and Daniel followed suit. O'Neill cast them wary glances but bent to pick up his pool stick, signaling a truce.

He knew this conversation would continue, he wasn't going to delude himself by thinking otherwise. When SG-1 wanted something, they got it, plain and simple. The thought was not as comforting as it had used to be. "Well, Carter we gonna finish the match or what?"

Sam picked up her stick and walked to the other end of the table weighing her options. "Yes sir."

* * *

It was three days after the incident in O'Malley's and O'Neill felt drained. He had been avoiding SG-1 as much as he could, it wasn't that difficult for all he had to do was lock himself in his quarters, tell Walter to not let anyone in and he was set, for a few hours at least. Then he had to disappear to some place on the base where even Walter couldn't find him and it frustrated the confused Chief Master Sergeant to no end.

He was in one of his inventive hiding places at the moment; just sitting up against the wall of an old abandoned storage closet. He was deep in the bowls of the mountain, the lowest floor he could go too which happened to be thirty-one, trying to hide from everyone and everything. Wishing for all the world that he was back with Eilyanna and Draco, back into that peaceful place where he didn't have to deal with all the mess he found himself in.

It's not that he wanted to die, no far from that; it was just so damn frustrating! He hadn't had an opportunity to fight the Ori, or even do anything remotely concerning them yet, and that was just adding to his frustration. He knew he was supposed to be out doing _something_ he just couldn't get away at the moment. A Major General in the USAF didn't just run around disappearing willy-nilly.

Though, it had occurred to him that no one but the people at the SGC knew he was alive, and even then that group was limited. He had only told the SG team leaders, General Landry and SG-1, seeing as they couldn't be avoided and he really didn't wish to avoid them. They just seemed to be out to get him at the moment and any piece of silence he could get his hands on was a helpful thing. If it was quiet he could imagine that he wasn't on Earth, that he wasn't in the mess he was in, he could imagine that he was with his Dad at the cabin or with Eilyanna and Draco.

Sighing he pushed himself up off the floor and onto his feet. He'd been sitting in the little room for over three hours now. Even the SGC couldn't operate on it's own for too long, and besides, he had a briefing to attend. He was after the knew scientist guy from Area 51, he had to make sure his cronies were doing their jobs, whatever they were…

"Or, at least you did." Jack O'Neill froze in place at the familiar voice. Slowly he turned around to face one Oma Desalla. "I have a message for you, one that you are not going to like."

O'Neill sighed resignedly and gestured for he to continue.

"Draco sends his greetings and wishes to ask a favor of you." Oma paused as if debating her next words. "He wants you to go to Atlantis."

"He what?" O'Neill shouted at her. She gave him a quelling look making him stop his out burst before it began. "Why? And how does he expect me to get there?"

"Eilyanna said you would know." Oma answered simply. "I do not know the details you need."

She made to leave but O'Neill stopped her. "Wait, I need something from you." She rose an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "You were lost, where have you been? Can you still keep Earth safe from the Ori?"

"I have been stuck in time with Anubis." Oma answered softly. "Floating between nothingness and existence. It seemed like a thousand years before Eilyanna pulled me out, killing Anubis as well."

"You didn't answer my second question." Jack insisted stubbornly.

"I do not know." Oma answered with a look of deep regret in her eyes. "The Ori are unlike anything we have seen, O'Neill you must know that."

"I do…but…" He looked away briefly, then back again. "I don't know what to do! Draco wanted me to protect this galaxy and I don't even know where to start!"

"You have just taken your first step." Oma answered, at his bewildered look she continued. "Draco has given you an assignment, follow it and you will have your starting point."

Comprehension dawned in the Phase Shifter's eyes. "Okay, I'll find a way, somehow I'll get to Atlantis."

Oma smiled and with a nod of her head she was gone. O'Neill glanced at his watch; if he hurried he might just make that briefing he had been trying to get to the first place. Smirking he left the storage closet and made for the elevator. Yep, SG-3 would be prepped and ready to go after this briefing, they would know all about the rocks that littered the landscape when he was done. And then he thought that maybe he would survive it after all he was at a starting point.

* * *

And this my friends is chapter four! I have written two new chapters since yesterday so I now have twelve instead of ten! Yay! Anyhow I'll keeo trying to write more chapters but ti's hard with out reviews! I mean come on, it can't be that hard to post one can it? Sheesh!


	5. First Steps

Again, I remind you that this hasn't been beta'd by anyone but me so please be patient with the errors. I know they aren't huge just missing letters and misplaced commas or punctuation(sp?) but some times they do get annoying. Thank you for spending some time out of your day reading this.

* * *

"I don't understand!" O'Neill paced back and forth in front of Landry's desk. "Why can't I have some time off at the cabin? All I'm asking for is two weeks! And, furthermore, technically I'm dead so what does it matter?"

Landry glared back at the irate General. "Jack, I just don't see why you need to leave."

"Oh f'cryin' out loud!" he muttered under his breath. "Why am I even here?" He stopped his pacing and turned to Landry. "I don't need your permission to go anywhere! I can do what I damn well please!"

Quickly O'Neill walked to the door and flung it open. "O'Neill!"

He didn't stop, just kept on walking out of the briefing room and down the stairs. He had no time for this! He needed to get to the cabin and he needed to do it now! With that thought in mind he made for his apartment to get to his computer and buy a plane ticket and pack, though he never was going to board the plane.

* * *

Carefully he packed all of the artillery and weapons he had acquired in the two weeks that he had been out of the SGC. All he needed to do now was get to Atlantis without them figuring out who he was. That part he knew was easy. All he had to do was shift to a planet that one of their teams was going to explore and get picked up by them. He knew they had sent the addresses with ZPMs to Earth in their 1.3-second communication. All he had to do was gate to an address similar and he had a place to start, as he had no memory of the Pegasus galaxy.

O'Neill strapped his modified watch onto his wrist and pressed the 'mode' button on it, activating his disguise. It made him look like a totally different person. His hair was long and black and his eyes a grayish green. He looked like your run of the mill alien geek he supposed, but not really in all his gear. Carefully he checked around his appartment for anything he forgot then changed his clothes to some he had modified.

Closing his eyes Jack O'Neill concentrated on the planet's position in space and felt his body tingle as the familiar sensation washed over him. Opening his eyes he found himself in an old temple, the Stargate one hundred feet in from of him, only it was different. It was blue and the inner ring didn't spin, the chevrons were blue as well and the symbols were dots in a pattern that lit up. The DHD was white with the same dotted patterns and a blue control crystal in the center. He let his gaze linger for a little longer then began his work.

Carefully he set up his homemade shelter and other living items in the temple, making it look like he had been there awhile. Lucky for him the writings on the wall were somewhat decipherable so he had a valid excuse for being there. Just as he had finished setting up the gate began to dial and he waited for some sign of who was coming through.

The event horizon splashed out in the familiar blue and white stream and after it settled back a MALP came rolling through. Smirking he put on the 'I'm just a curious alien' expression and walked towards it. He could see the camera panning towards him and he cautiously approached.

"Who is that?" Sheppard asked the tech at the station. He saw a man about thirty staring back at him, and behind the only occupant of the temple was his dwelling. It was a simple tent made of what looked like burlap. "Turn on the comm."

The tech did as he was told and Dr. Weir began to speak. "I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir and you are?"

The man jumped back as if startled. "Wh-wh-what?" His eyes narrowed at the MALP. "Are you on the other…side?"

"Yes, yes I am." Weir answered him cheerfully. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Arian Drell." The man answered. He cast another wary glance at the machine. "Where are you speaking from?"

"A place very far away." Weir answered carefully.

"Ask him if he would mind if we looked around the temple." Rodney McKay suggested as he walked into the control room. "Sorry I'm late, I was busy finishing my lunch. So who is he?"

Sheppard glared at the scientist but answered anyway. "His name is Arian Drell."

"Hmm." McKay answered indifferent. He turned to look at Weir. "Are you going to ask?"

She shot the man a look but turned back to the screen. "Would you mind if we sent a team over to take a look at the temple?"

Drell seemed to think about it. "No, I wouldn't." He shrugged. "It's not my temple anyway. I'm just a traveler."

"Good." Weir nodded even thought Drell could not see her. "I'll have one there within the hour." With that the communication ended and the Stargate shut down.

"Well," Colonel Sheppard broke the silence. "Not exactly what we were hoping to find."

McKay cast him an exasperated look. "Did you not see the writings on the walls? They were Ancient just so you know. And that Drell guy might know something about it, despite the fact that he was slightly suspicious."

"Glad you approve." Weir interrupted his monolog before it could begin. "Gear up and be in the gate room in an hour."

"Yes ma'am." Sheppard replied. He turned causally on his heel and walked out of the room, McKay following behind him.

* * *

O'Neill let out a breath. They bought it! Thank god! Now what? He wondered confused. I have my starting point but nothing to go on from there, well not yet anyway. He sighed and walked to his little tent. He opened the flap and stepped inside, he just had to wait a couple of hours before he actually got to Atlantis. Oh what fun that will be! He mused ruefully. I'm just sitting here alone in a tent inside an Ancient temple. Danny would love this.

"Yes, I am sure he would." O'Neill didn't flinch this time when he heard the old Ancient's voice. "Now, you are here, what else must you do?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Jack wondered aloud as he poked the ground with a fork. "I thought I told you to stay at Earth."

"You didn't." Oma seemed indignant. "And you do not issue my order's either."

"I'm sure Draco will say other wise." O'Neill shot back. He stood quickly to his feet. "I'm not there to watch over Earth, so you have to do it!"

Oma glared at him. "O'Neill, do you not think that I have left my planet unguarded?" He shrugged noncommittally.

"Who'd ya leave?" O'Neill asked after a pause.

"Rohahn." She said with a small air of smugness. O'Neill's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"You left Rohahn?" Jack gave her a confused glance. "Is it only temporary? Because he has his own duties to attend to."

She sighed with annoyance. "O'Neill, I have been doing this longer that you have lived, why do you doubt me?"

"Because." He stopped to think. "I don't hold the Ancients in real high regard, and right now you fall into that category, no matter what you may have done for Daniel."

The Ascended Ancient looked away. She turned back to look at the young Phase Shifter as she spoke. "While I understand your wariness, you must put it aside for this duration if you are to achieve what you have been sent here to do. Draco wants something from you, what I do not know, but he is waiting and he knows that you will find it but not on your own."

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Okay, but why did 'Dad' pick you?"

"You knew me, still do." Oma answered simply. "Eilyanna thought it easier if it would come from me." At his glare she went on. "Obviously that was not the case."

"Nah, really?" He snapped back. He looked out of the tent when he saw the Stargate light up. "You'd better go." Before the words were out of his mouth, the Ancient was gone. "Well, they're here a few minutes shy of an hour, nice."

He stepped out of the tent as he spotted Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, McKay and a new guy that he didn't know. "Greetings!" he called to them.

"Hello." Teyla answered pleasantly. "I am Teyla, and these are my friends, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay and Ronan Dex."

"Hi." Sheppard offered awkwardly. He glanced around the temple. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Uh, one moon I believe." O'Neill answered smoothly. He walked next to the Colonel as they explored the temple.

"Wow." McKay glanced around the magnificent building in some amount of awe, though not as much as his teammates. Dex seemed to be eyeing him warily, as if he was about to hurt or double cross them.

"Beautiful isn't it?" He offered. "It took me sometime to get used to seeing it, even then some of the awe has not worn away." Jack glanced towards Sheppard. "This is the temple of the Ancestors, is it not?"

"Yes, it is." John Sheppard answered carefully. "What do you know about it?"

"I know it was built sometime ago-"

McKay cut him off. "Colonel I'm sure that's all he does know about it. This is a waste of time, we need to get a real good look at this place, not chat with the locals."

The statement made O'Neill want to rip his brains out and laugh at the same time, which was a very odd feeling. "Dr. McKay." He started out forcefully turning to face the impossibly annoying man. "While understand that you might, and I stress the word might, know more about this place, I suggest you keep such comments to yourself! It won't-" Jack stopped short, for fear of revealing something he shouldn't. Dex had drawn his weapon he noticed, and Sheppard and Teyla were starting to look rather wary of him.

"I, uh." McKay stopped. He glared at the man he knew as Arian Drell. "Look, we came here to look at the ruins not-"

"Not what!" O'Neill demanded hotly. "Would you shut up for just a moment!" He yelled again when McKay and Sheppard made to speak. Dex looked about ready to hurt him, but he really wasn't fazed, the guy couldn't touch him if he didn't want him too. "Then, maybe I might be able to tell you what I've found!" he glared again at him for good measure. "Now, this place was used to develop some sort of shield device, which I have yet to find, but I do know that the Ancestors abandoned it when the Wraith began to attack."

Sheppard gave him a look that said 'thank you', then cast a pointed one at McKay. "Thank you, Arian."

"Did you have any luck looking for the shield before we arrived?" Ronan spoke for the first time. He still seemed wary, but less inclined to inflict bodily harm on him now.

"Yeah, a little." He answered. "I found a chamber that I couldn't open, it was protected by a riddle that I've been trying to solve for the past three days. But since my knowledge of the Ancestors is limited I can't understand it beyond translating the text."

"Would you show us?" Teyla asked politely. He was starting to like her, O'Neill thought, But McKay he's a lost cause and this Ronan guy seems a little odd.

"Sure." He answered, leading the way to the chamber. He was lucky he could quickly read the script off the walls or he would have been in some serious trouble. He led them through the maze of passageways to a small room; with a flat, smooth stonewall at the far end, with a block of writing eye level and a circular device that seemed to be a combination lock. "Here it is, take a look if ya want."

He got an odd look from the four teammates for that comment and cursed silently in his head. Remember O'Neill, both Sheppard and McKay know you! Don't act too much like you normally do or they will catch you, you nit! He mentally berated himself. It really wasn't a good thing if they found out, because he would have too much explaining to do and to many questions would be asked. He was sure that the Atlantis team knew he was dead because the Daedelus traveled back and forth from Earth to Atlantis regularly and he was sure someone on board had heard the news of his untimely demise.

O'Neill watched as McKay made his way quickly over to the writings.

"What's it say?" Sheppard called out from the middle of the room.

"Uh, well, it's defiantly a riddle." McKay answered. "'Ripples in the pond of time, too close they come to you and I. Shine a light of glory fade, into the never ending day.'"

Sheppard gave him a confused glance. "That makes no sense."

"I agree." Teyla answered, her face showing confusion. Dex simply cast a look at the wall and said nothing.

"Wait…" O'Neill said, causing McKay to look at him. "'Ripples in the pond of time.'" He quoted. "How do you make ripples in the water?"

"By throwing a stone." Ronan answered before anyone else could.

"Yes," O'Neill said. "If you were to throw a wrench into times natural flow it would create a ripple. The first answer is Shift."

"How do you come by that?" Sheppard asked intrigued.

"'Too close they come to you and I'." He quoted again. "Another dimension." He told them as if it were fact.

"You can't possibly be serious!" Rodney exclaimed. He stopped short. "Can you?" Jack sent him a look and McKay turned the circle clockwise to the correct letters of the Ancient alpha bet to spell Shift. The letters for the first half of the riddle glowed blue. "He was right!" McKay said stunned.

"Nice." Sheppard congratulated him. "What about the next part?"

"Uh…" Jack mumbled. "''Shine a light of glory fade.'" He quoted. "Another realm maybe?" He thought aloud. Like Draco and Eilyanna's old world…then it dawned. This is what they wanted me to find! "A place where a powerful being, or beings lived?"

"Maybe." Teyla agreed. "But who?"

"Dragons." Ronan said, surprising them all, including the masquerading O'Neill. At their looks he went on. "Eilyanna and Draco, the great Mother and Father Dragons once lived in a realm, but had to leave because of a terrible disaster."

Not quite, O'Neill thought. "How do you know?"

"My planet worshiped them." Dex answered simply. O'Neill rose his eyebrows, if only he knew who I was…

"Wait…" he said suddenly. "The next answer is Phase."

"How did you come by that?" An exasperated McKay replied.

"Phase Shifter." O'Neill answered simply. "The answer is Phase Shifter because that is exactly what these dragons, Eilyanna and Draco would have had to do to leave their dimension."

"Okay." Rodney breathed out. He moved the circle counter clock wise to the correct letters and the other part of the riddle glowed. There was a loud rumbling and he hurried away from the wall as soon as it started. The wall began to part and the team slowly moved forward when it had stopped. What they found was no shield. It was a set of clear blue stones, seven of them lying in a circle on a stone dais.

"Okay…" O'Neill muttered. "I'm in here now what?" He didn't realize he had spoke aloud as his gaze was fixed on the stones. Suddenly his arm began to burn again. "Ah!"

Sheppard was the first to his side and he quickly rolled up his sleeve to see his Dragon mark. "Whoa!" The flames were like real fire when he touched them, causing him to jerk his hand back away from them.

"Let go!" Ronan ordered quickly, Sheppard too stunned to care let go and watched as O'Neill, aka Drell, seemed to calm and the flames go out. Dex could not contain his shock at seeing the mark. "What are you?" He demanded, stepping back his weapon drawn.

Jack stood and surveyed his options. He needed to get the stones out of here! They were very, very important! "Look, that's not important, what is, is that I get out of here with the stones before I'm discovered! Now you're going to have to trust me on this!"

"No!" Sheppard shot back, his P-90 raised. "Now answer Dex's question, what are you?"

"A Phase Shifter." Strange how he could tell them but not his team. But he thought it had something to do with the fact that they didn't know who he was. "I only got here three hours ago, not a month. I was sent here, by someone very important to get the stones and bring them back, now you have to trust me!"

"Who sent you?" Teyla demanded calmly, he weapon raised as well.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." O'Neill scoffed. Sheppard gave him his 'try me' look. "Draco."

Dex seemed rather stunned and angry at the same time.

"What?" McKay exclaimed. "Dragons are not real! You can't expect us to believe that!"

"I told you." O'Neill stated simply. "Look, let me go! I don't have a lot of time here!"

"How could you possibly know Father Draco?" Ronan demanded. "No one has ever met him before!"

"I said I was a Phase Shifter!" O'Neill cried in frustration. "I can find Draco and Eilyanna as easily as they can find me!" His hands were moving about rapidly as he spoke. "Now, let me go, now!" His eyes flashed with the same menace as they had that fateful night at O'Malley's. McKay took a step back in shock and Sheppard and Teyla almost dropped their weapons. Dex just looked to stunned to move, but then recovered quickly. He knew his eyes had gone solid black, he'd seen it in the mirror once, they had done almost the same thing at O'Malley's, but only his iris' had darkened that time. "Let. Me. Go."

Sheppard swallowed. "Back to my original question," he said with false bravado that he certainly didn't feel, "what are you?"

"I told you dammit!" O'Neill roared in anger. He moved faster than any of them could have anticipated and snatched up the stones, then he was gone in a brilliant flash of white blue light.

"What the hell just happened?" McKay asked, his voice shaking.

"I have no idea." Sheppard mumbled.

"He was not lying." Teyla said softly. Dex stared at the spot where O'Neill had been. For some reason, he knew that, that was not the last they would be seeing of Arian Drell, not at all.

* * *

That, my friends was the Atlantis team! And unfortunately that's all you're going to see until sometime after chapter twelve. I haven't written anything beyond that yet so I have no idea exactly when we will see Atlantis again, but I promise you we will. Now, you will have to wait until tomorrow for the next chapter. See ya later!


	6. Dad

Ah! I've finnally posted the next chapter! I'm so very sorry to keep y'all waitin', it's just when life gives ya lemons...well ya iknow the rest... on with the show maties!

* * *

Eilyanna turned her head quickly when she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye. She saw her pup, who seemed extremely angry at something, stalking towards her and her mate. She had to suppress a grin at his facial expression, but it soon faded when she glanced at his eyes, but then she knew why they had changed, her eyes were black. But she also knew it would fade as he calmed down a bit, well maybe slightly more than a bit she decidedafter taking another look at his posture and body language.

"Jack!" Draco called. "I hadn't expected to see you so soon!"

O'Neill pulled the bag that held the stones out of his pack. He glanced at his watch and noticed that the cloak batteries had run out, he'd gotten out of there just in time. "Here they are, all seven of the damn things."

Draco lifted his front hand-like foot and took the bag from his offspring. "Thank you, pup. Though I don't see why you're so angry."

"I ran into Colonel Sheppard and his merry gaggle of goons!" O'Neill shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "That damn Ronan Dex knew all about you too! It seems you're worshiped on his planet! And what's better is when I got close to the stones, my mark began to burn! So Sheppard and all his brains had to come running when he heard me cry out in pain! After which they saw the mark and I got three guns pointed at me and the batteries on my cloak almost ran out! For God's sake I didn't even have to go to Atlantis to get the damn things! But of course they were on a planet that McKay wanted to explore when I got there!"

Eilyanna and Draco were hard pressed not to laugh as they saw him shouting and pacing back and so quickly they thought he would trip over his own feet in his haste to wear a hole in the floor. "Pup…" Draco started carefully. "You made it out alright didn't you? I don't see how bad this could have been."

O'Neill looked up at the sky and rolled his eyes, which after his rant had returned to their normal color. He glanced back at the Dragons and grinned. "Yeah, I guess it wasn't all that bad." His smile faltered, then disappeared. "But I have to get back to the cabin. I'm supposed to be there at the moment."

Draco nodded. "Go, quickly, you mustn't be caught."

Jack nodded and was gone in a flash of blue white light. He opened his eyes to find him self, along with his truck, out side of the cabin, standing in the drive way with his suitcase on the ground by his feet. Sighing he picked it up and made his way to the front door. He really felt bad imposing on his Dad like this, especially because he'd been gone for six months and assumed dead.

Carefully he lifted his hand and knocked three times. He listened and heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back, then the sound of footsteps as his Dad walked to the door. When it opened O'Neill swore his father could have dropped dead and died on the spot. He was extremely shocked to see him standing there, after he had seen his body buried six feet under.

"Hi." Jack broke the long uncomfortable silence that he had spent shifting from foot to foot. "Can I, uh, come in? It's kinda cold out here."

Patrick O'Neill still didn't say a word, just stepped back and let his son, whom he thought was dead; walk into the house, shutting the door behind him. The elder O'Neill just stared for a long moment into his son's eyes, and Jack stared right back. Patrick swallowed and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He blinked back some unwelcome tears as he stared into Jack's eyes.

"Jack?" He managed to choke out. "Wh-what…? H-how a-are you…?"

Jack smiled softly. "It's a long story, Dad." He said gently. "But an amazing one that I fully intend to tell you."

"You damn well better!" Patrick shot back. "How the hell did you come back from the dead? Were you even really dead? What the hell did we burry? Some forensics dummy!"

Jack flinched under the harsh, but necessary words. "I don't know what you buried, Dad. I wasn't even on Earth when it happened."

"What?" Patrick gasped. He glared. "Oh no you don't! Don't go making up some dumbass story!"

"It's not!" O'Neill answered quickly. "I swear on a stack of bibles that it's not!"

Patrick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, come on into the living room and sit down. I want to hear everything."

Jack nodded and followed his father into the care worn room.

* * *

"A dragon?" Patrick said after Jack finished his tale. "I don't understand."

"I-I'm not a dragon." O'Neill answered with some difficulty. "I'm still your son, the one you raised from a baby. But my soul, that's what's different from you, or SG-1, or any other human on this planet for that matter. That's what's from Eilyanna and Draco. It's the thing that lets me do all of those things I showed you."

Patrick O'Neill blew out a shaky breath. "Okay, I think I understand…but why did they choose you? Why Kate and I?"

"You remember how the doctors said that Mom couldn't have anymore children?" Patrick nodded almost undetectably. "And they said that is was a miracle that she even had me? The reason they chose you is because your combined genetic make up made the Ancients gene."

"But why Kate and I?" Patrick persisted. "You told me that more people than you have this gene."

"But Mom was barren." Jack said softly. "Eilyanna knew that if she gave her gift to you and Mom that you would benefit from it more than she ever would, and so would I."

Patrick closed his eyes for a long moment. He opened them and looked at his son in a new light that he hadn't done before. He smiled suddenly. "You can jump dimensions? Make fire? Fly? Change a twig into a rock?"

Jack smiled back. "Yeah, I can."

"I always knew you were special." Patrick's grin threatened to snap his face in half. "I just didn't realize how much!"

"Beer?" O'Neill suggested happily. His dad nodded and he walked off into the kitchen, leaving the grinning man in his favorite armchair. The visit wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, not at all.

* * *

The stars sparkled high in the sky as O'Neill stared up at them. He was lying on his back in the grass, the cabin was behind him and he could see the moonlight reflecting off the lake. The light in the master bedroom was on and he knew that his Dad was still awake; it wasn't later than twelve he guessed. He lied there, mapping his own constellations, a favorite childhood pastime that he still liked to enjoy.

He spotted Earth's point of origin and the Great Pyramids too. He made out the constellation named after Draco, and stared at it a long time; somehow he knew that Draco and Eilyanna were watching him now from their home among the stars. He felt a strange sensation flow up from his stomach, it reminded him of sitting with his mom and dad at night in front of the fire the three of them cuddled together under a heavy blanket to keep out the cold. And he realized that he was happy, not just content, but happy with the way things were.

Jack sighed quietly his eyes still fixed on the heavens. He heard soft footsteps in the grass and recognized them as his father's. He heard Patrick settle himself down by him, sitting cross-legged in the soft grass. O'Neill smiled softly and glanced back towards Draco's Stars as he decided to call them. They were shining brighter than he had seen them before and his grin widened.

"What?" Pat asked when he noticed his son's grin.

"Nothin'." Jack answered, still grinning. A shooting star flew by and he laughed softly.

Patrick looked more confused. "Did I miss something?"

"You see that constellation?" Jack pointed towards Draco's Stars. "How it's brighter than the rest? It's called Draco."

Patrick smiled up at the sky. "Oh, I see." He looked down at Jack. "Is he doing that?" Another shooting star went by.

"Yeah," O'Neill said softly, "he is." His smile was back. "And he says he likes you."

"How do you know?" Patrick asked, his voice unsteady.

Jack rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. "Because he just told me."

Patrick nodded jerkily. "Okay."

There was a gush of wind and the air began to shimmer in front of the two men. A figure began to slowly appear in and a small glow of yellow light surrounded it. Jack and his father were both stunned to see Draco appear on the back lawn in front of them. His skin reflected the moonlight making it a pale blue color and his wing tips and talons reflected the lake water.

O'Neill sat up quickly just staring at the sight in front of him. "What…are you doing here?" He managed to force out. Patrick was unable to say anything; he just simply gawked opened mouthed at the new arrival. O'Neill pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the smirking dragon.

"Not glad to see me?" Draco shot back. "How about a 'hello, how are you? How was your day?'"

O'Neill gave him a look. "You always have a reason, Draco."

Patrick seemed to have found his legs and voice and made his way over to the pair. "Are you the one who rescued Jack?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Thank you." Patrick said simply.

"What have ya got?" Jack asked after a semi-awkward silence.

"Those stones you found were important." Draco began. "They control the elements. Simply put you can destroy or create a planet with them if you use them right."

"Sweet." O'Neill muttered. "Okay, then that means the Ancients didn't make them?"

"No." Draco answered. "But, I think I know who did."

* * *

Well, that was chapter six! Sorry I didn't post it sooner, I just got busy and lost track of everything! Well hope ya like it! please review!


	7. Questions

Ack! Here is the next chapter that I have been putting off because I just started schoool monday! It is here now and you can read it if ya like, but quick warning the begining is slightly corny!

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

"The Furlings?" Daniel was skeptic. "How did you come by that?"

"Uh…long story." O'Neill evaded the question. "But I know how to find them."

"O'Neill!" Teal'c's voice was slightly threatening. "You must answer our questions!"

Jack glared back the jaffa. "No, I won't."

"Yes, you will!" Daniel shot back. "Because we won't help you unless you do!"

O'Neill sighed and looked over the young man's shoulder and out into the hall. He really didn't need their help, but he wanted it. He wanted them to understand, wanted their support and friendship and he was rapidly losing both. Gritting his teeth to keep from growling in frustration he looked back at the annoying archeologist. He seemed to be taking his duty as spokesman seriously, he wasn't backing down.

Okay then, Jack thought angrily, time to lay it on them, thick and good. His eyes flashed to solid black and the mark on his arm began to glow under his BDU sleeve making the fabric that covered it turn an orange color. Shifting his stance he glared at the four of them, making Daniel flinch and Carter to step back. Teal'c reached for his zat and Mitchell for his 9mm.

The palms of his hands began to glow a dull white. The lights in the room flickered and the cameras exploded. There was a gust of wind and the sound of electricity crackling. The white light covering his hands grew brighter; almost blinding. He was ready to prove something to them, something that he didn't want to.

"I don't need your help." He spoke evenly, his voice threatening. "But I wanted it, now I'm not so sure."

Teal'c was the first to find his voice, his zat ready to fire if he needed. "Explain your behavior O'Neill!"

"I was somewhere that you will never be able to go." The energy on his hands began to diminish, then slowly fade away, but his eyes were still a deep black and his right forearm was still the orange color. "I learned things that you will never be able to. Because I'm not like you."

"I don't understand." Daniel stepped forward bravely. "What are you?"

"A Phase Shifter." O'Neill answered. "I can go to the Furlings if I want to! Hell! I could call them here if I wanted! I offered you a chance to meet them and you refused!"

Daniel swallowed nervously. "Jack we didn't-"

"Don't!" O'Neill shouted back. "You've made your point! I'm gone!" There was a flash of blue light and SG-1 found themselves alone in Daniel office.

"Holy shit." Mitchell mumbled. "Did he just-?"

Carter nodded mutely. "Yeah, I think he did."

* * *

"Jesus!" Patrick dropped the knife he was using to cut the chicken and knocked a bottle of dressing to the floor as he saw Jack appear in the living room. "God dammit Jack! Don't do that!"

O'Neill took a deep breath and opened his eyes, hoping they weren't solid black. He turned to his father and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry."

"You don't look happy." Patrick bent to pick up the knife. He set it on the counter and grabbed a dishtowel to wipe up the spilled dressing. "What happened?"

"I told SG-1." O'Neill answered as he walked into the kitchen to help his father. "And not in the way that I had imagined."

"What'd ya do?" Patrick turned; putting his hand on his hip then leaned against the counter.

"Well…" Jack grabbed a knife, cucumber, and a cutting board and began to chop. "I freaked."

"How so?" Patrick asked, turning back to the chicken.

"I wanted them to come with me when I go to visit our furry little friends." O'Neill brushed the chopped cucumber into a salad bowl. "Daniel got his panties in a wad and flat out refused, demanding to be given all the details. Teal'c shouted at me and Cameron and Sam joined in with Danny. I got angry and blew my stack, plain and simple."

"Okay," Patrick nodded. He started to dip the chicken in what was left of the marinade, "how so?"

"Blew up the cameras." O'Neill said nonchalantly as he chopped up two tomatoes. "And almost blew Teal'c over with energy."

Patrick shook his head bemused. "And why did you chose to do that? To intimidate them? Or maybe to persuade them to come with you?"

"Both, I guess." Jack slid the tomatoes off the cutting board and into the salad bowl with the cucumbers.

"They mean a lot to you." Patrick observed softly. "They're opinions and feelings mean a lot to you."

"SG-1 is like my family, Dad!" O'Neill whirled around to face him. "I want them to understand, but they just won't!"

Patrick put a hand on his shoulder. "I do." He said softly. "And if I can understand all of this then so can they. From what you've told me they're somewhat used to this kind of stuff."

Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, I guess." He looked his father in the eye. "But, I don't think they're used to it happening to the people closest to the them."

* * *

"A what?" Mitchell asked after a long silence. "He's a Phase Shifter?"

"It is what O'Neill said." Teal'c informed them. He turned to Daniel. "Do you know anything on this subject DanielJackson?"

Daniel looked up from his study of the floor. "Huh? Oh, well no not much." He sighed. "But I do remember Oma talking about them. She said something about a war and now I can put the pieces in their proper places."

"Oma Desalla told you about the war with the Ori?" Carter asked skeptically.

"Yeah." Daniel mumbled. "I remember it now. She told me about a race that lived in another dimension, about how they fought the Ori."

"Who where they?" Sam asked.

"Eilyanna and Draco." Jackson answered, his eyes lighting up. "They were dragons!"

"O'Neill was with them?" Teal'c surmised.

"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed. "He told me before! I just didn't see it!"

"But how does General O'Neill fit into all of this?" Mitchell asked, somewhat confused.

Daniel bit his lip in thought. How does Jack fit into all of this? He asked himself, how does he shift Dimensions, he's just human. It has to have something to do with the five months he was gone, he must have learned something. After all, he had made his hands glow and his eyes changed color. Not to mention his arm, which had looked as if it was on fire. Maybe…just maybe he's not what he appears to be.

"Jack isn't quite human." Daniel answered his question.

"Daniel…" Sam started.

"No, here me out." Daniel held up his finger for her to stop. "What if Eilyanna and Draco gave him something, something that made him different from you or I? Something that we wouldn't be able to see unless he showed us. Something that changed what he was on the inside."

"Like…a soul?" Mitchell hedged a guess.

"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed, his eyes alight with excitement. "That's it!"

"You're forgetting one thing." Carter cut in. "A soul is what makes a person what they are, it's your consciousness if you will. They couldn't have given it to him now or he wouldn't be Jack O'Neill."

"Maybe…" Mitchell began. "He was born that way."

There was silence all around after he had spoken, as everyone was lost in their own thoughts on the subject. Daniel was standing with his arms wrapped around his middle, his eyes moving back and forth from the desk to the floor, and Teal'c was merely standing with his arms behind his back watching his teammates. Carter was biting the inside of her lip, pacing slowly back and forth.

"We could ask, Patrick." Daniel suggested softly. He looked up at his teammates. They all gave their silent consent.

* * *

Well, this chapter was slightly corny, but I needed it so, here it is! As you know, I'm not all that good at this kind of stuff so you'll have to forgive me as I'm only 15. Anyway hoped you enjoyed it, even though it was slightly corny! Please review!


	8. Building Bridges

ACK! I'm so sorry! I accidentally uploaded my drabble, Advanced as the last chapter! If you haven't read the real chapter seven, I suggest you do so! Sorry 'bout that!

* * *

Patrick O'Neill was raking the leaves in the front yard when he saw an unmarked SUV pull into the drive. Curious, he leaned the rake against the tree and made his way over towards it. He watched as the doors opened and the people he knew as Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Murray aka Teal'c, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, stepped out of the vehicle.

Pat stood on the edge of the driveway with his hands in his old jeans pockets. He eyed the team warily as he bounced on the balls of his feet. His white work shirt was a dirty mess as he had been chasing squirrels out from under the deck of the cabin. He cast a quick glance towards the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jack, all he saw was the curtains swishing like they had been moved.

"Hello!" He called to them. Daniel shrugged, then walked the ten-foot distance over to him.

"Hi, Mr. O'Neill." Daniel replied. "We, uh, were wondering if we could talk to you."

"I don't see anything stopping you." He was hard pressed to keep the hostility out of his voice, after all these were his son's friends, who apparently didn't trust him anymore.

Daniel winced slightly. "Jack's been here hasn't he?"

"Damn right I'm here!" the group turned to look, having not even noticed his approach. "Why the hell are you?"

"We have some questions that only you can answer." Mitchell said before Daniel or Teal'c could.

"More questions?" O'Neill exploded. "What the hell else could you possibly want?"

"Eilyanna and Draco have given you something O'Neill." Teal'c sated in his blunt jaffa way.

"And we want to know what," Carter finished for him then as an after thought added, "sir."

Huh, didn't think they'd have caught on that quick. He thought bemused. Well, it would be very confusing coming from me so I suppose, that I could ask for a little bit of help… Smirking, he looked over at his teammates and caught their bewildered expressions. Patrick glanced over at him, raising a questioning eyebrow. Jack shrugged and started to speak.

"I'm sure Draco could explain it well enough." With that comment the air began to shimmer as it had that night two weeks ago. SG-1 watched in awe a figure appeared and a dull yellow light surrounded it then faded, leaving a magnificent white dragon. Draco lifted his head and blew of a stream of fire, then lowered it. Slowly he looked over at SG-1. His yellow eyes seemed to bore into them, making everyone unable to look away.

Draco turned his head towards Jack. "These are your friends?"

"Yeah." Jack answered. "Guys, this is Draco, Draco, this is SG-1."

"Daniel Jackson." Draco spoke. "I remember you. Oma speaks very highly of you." Daniel just nodded. "And you, Teal'c, are most respected for your courage in freeing the jaffa." Teal'c bowed his head slowly, then raised it back up, glowing with the praise. "And, you Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter. You are a brilliant scientist and soldier. Jack speaks very highly of you." Sam blushed and tucked her head down a moment. "Lt. Colonel Mitchell, they newest SGC recruit. Quite a job you did, protecting SG-1 in Antarctica."

"I crashed." He pointed out bluntly. Draco smirked.

"Yeah, ya did, what was with that anyway?" O'Neill quipped. He looked towards Draco. "They wanna know what you told me, all those weeks ago."

"Yes, we do." Daniel found his voice. "Jack couldn't have done what he did in my office if you didn't do something to him. What was it?"

"Oh, and when was it?" Mitchell added quickly.

"He was given a soul." Draco replied. "There was a war, Eilyanna was with child, but we knew that we could not raise one during those times, so we sent him to Earth. The man you see here was that pup."

O'Neill looked smug, and Patrick looked amused. He glanced over and Draco and winked. The large dragon nodded in his direction. The two had become fast friends, much to O'Neill chagrin. Because, Patrick had regaled Draco with his most embarrassing stories, and Eilyanna had yet to stop teasing him every time he saw her.

The team was silent, not sure what make of this revelation. Suddenly O'Neill wondered if by telling them this they would reject him. The thought brought up a feeling of dread that he hadn't felt in a long time. He insides twisted and he prayed that they would still be his friends, as they were the only family besides his father he had here on Earth.

"Whoa." Mitchell muttered, his eyes settled upon O'Neill, they held something that he had never seen in them before. It was almost akin to hero worship, but not quite.

Daniel blinked repeatedly. "I-but-how?" He gave his friend a quick once over. "But you don't look like a dragon…"

Draco seemed to find that comment funny, and he laughed softly. "Jack had said the same thing when he was told."

"But, I don't understand." Carter interjected. "Sir, have you known all your life? Or was this just something you found out recently?"

"Recently." Jack spoke softly. "I didn't know until two months ago. It was a month before I left Draco and Eilyanna's realm and came back to Earth."

"O'Neill." Teal'c spoke his eyes held a deep respect that Jack hadn't seen in a long while from the jaffa. "You were always something more, it was this I sensed when you convinced me to help you on Chulak."

"You saw something in him that you hadn't seen in anyone else before?" Patrick seemed to find this concept interesting.

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."

O'Neill swallowed. Well, so far so good, now they just have to trust me again! The thought sent a shiver down his spine, he hoped that they hadn't lost their trust in him at all, but he knew that to some degree they had. Something had been lost in Daniel's office earlier that day, something that would take a long time to replace. Guilt twisted in his gut, it was his fault that they didn't trust him as a friend anymore, if he had only told them! General Landry was probably ready to tear his head off if he saw him again.

Draco nodded to them. "You must hurry to the Furlings, pup." Jack nodded absently mindedly, his gaze fixed on his friends. "They are in great peril."

That made his head snap around so fast, Daniel thought it would fall off. "What?" He took a quick few steps towards the dragon. "What's wrong? What's happening to the Furlings?"

Everyone was startled at his sudden out burst. Carefully they watched as he stared into the dragon's eyes, a look of understanding slowly came over him.

"The Ori!" He snarled. "Those bastards!" There was a flash of blue light and Draco and O'Neill were gone.

"He did it again!" Daniel squeaked.

"Yeah, it's become a habit." Patrick quipped. "C'mon inside, I've got some coffee on the pot."

* * *

The land around them seemed to by completely flat. It was just grass, no trees or flowers, just flat grassland. The sky was a pale purple with no clouds to speak of. It was a plain, but oddly beautiful place. Over to their right was a set of square houses. They were a spotless white with a door and two windows on either side. In the front yard was a circular device that looked almost like a car, but O'Neill couldn't be sure.

What he was sure of though, was the place was empty, a ghost town. There wasn't a soul in sight besides them and it scared him. "Uh, Draco, is it supposed to be deserted?"

Draco didn't say anything; he merely walked towards the houses, a strange expression on his face. Carefully he stepped into the front yard and nudged open the door. Inside were bodies. They had navy blue skin and bright orange hair. The one with its eyes open had almond shaped, and colored, eyes. The dragon felt a stab of sorrow cut through him like a knife; he prayed they weren't too late.

"It is not deserted." He said softly as O'Neill joined him. "They're dead."

* * *

Okay, this is chapter eight! Again I'm really sorry for uploading the wrong chapter for seven! Please review!


	9. Death of the Innocent

Okay, folks! Chapter nine has arrived! Now, it gets a little corny in the middle, then it lessens, somewhat. That's all ya needed ta know! Thanks!

* * *

"This is not what we have planned!" One soul shouted at the other. "You know this, yet you sent them there anyway?"

"Silence, Jaylen!" The other roared. "This is what we needed to happen! Can you not see that?"

"Oma-"

"Or do you not care?" She interrupted icily. "They have never meant anything to you have they? Despite the fact that they were our allies, the Furlings to you have always been a tool."

Jaylen held her gaze. He wouldn't back down from this. They had planned an attack and she had gone and sent _O'Neill_ to the Furlings! This could not be tolerated! She has broken the rules! He raged silently. They were not to interfere with others! Yet, she has once again! Traitorous fool! She will pay for this insubordinate act! With her life if she must, he silently vowed. I will see to it, personally.

"You have interfered!" He shouted accusingly at her.

"Only with your plans." The head council member pointed out softly. The room was a grand one, with twelve seats at the front, then towards the middle a stand and behind that, seats for jurors and on lookers. The seats and stands were carved white marble and the judges' booth seemed to glow with an un-earthly blue light. The high vaulted ceilings displayed patterns off light reflecting off an invisible pool.

Jaylen sputtered but couldn't say anything. "This trial should not be happening, Jaylen." He glared at the judge. "You are both dismissed."

"Desalla." Another council member called after her. "Take three with you to aid O'Neill and Draco. They shall need it."

Oma nodded, and slowly turned into light. The rest of the room watched as she disappeared into the ceiling.

"It has started." The man who last spoke said.

"Yes, it has." The head councilor replied. "Let us hope that it goes they way we wish it."

* * *

The pair of them wondered in the Furlings realm for what seemed like hours, finding nothing but bodies and wreckage. What had once been great cities were burned to the ground. The smoke was thick in the atmosphere, making it hard to see for the Dragon and his pup. There were bodies littered on the floor, most had only a single burn wound in the chest, something that signified the Ori had struck.

Jack tried not to breath to deeply, for fear of inhaling the smell of the dead he knew he could never rid from his nostrils. The sky was beginning to darken on the city, making it seem like a graveyard of fear. All they could see for miles was destruction, not a single living thing, not even a stray animal or plant. Everything was simply destroyed, wiped out, never to be heard from again.

The sounds of life would never return to this once great city. The buildings and courtyards would be washed away with time, and would come to resemble one of Daniel's many ruins he found scattered amongst the galaxy. It would be a place that forever remained burned in his memory, something that he would never forget. The fact that he had failed, that he had let these people down over something as trivial and fighting with his friends.

The thought that his selfishness had caused this was almost unbearable. He knew he should have left right when Oma had told him to go, but he didn't, because he wanted his 'friends' to come with him. The whole city had been decimated because he wanted to prove something to someone, because he thought that if they knew what he was doing then, maybe, they would leave him be. He delayed thinking that they would try to help him if he showed them this, but it didn't turn out that way.

His plan had gone to hell in a hand basket rather quickly and he had left for the cabin. He waited too long and now an entire race of people was dead, gone, annihilated because of him. Jack O'Neill walked stiffly next to his Dragon sire, wondering if he could do anything, anything at all, to change what happened here this day. If only he had used his head! If only he had done what he should have! Not lollygagged and procrastinated!

"It's not your fault." Draco spoke softly, so softly that Jack almost didn't hear him. "You couldn't have foreseen this, I certainly didn't or I would have come and gotten you."

"It is my fault." O'Neill whispered back. "They're dead because of me. The Ori killed them because I didn't act when I should have! Tell me how this is not my fault?"

Draco stopped and turned his head to look at his guilt-ridden pup. "Because I let you!" he insisted firmly. "I let you try and make peace with your friends before you left. Because I knew how important they were to you!"

Jack looked away from the wise dragon's eyes and at the dusty floor below. It wasn't Draco's fault, it was his own. He didn't need Daniel, Sam, Teal'c and Mitchell then, he didn't need their approval to go save someone all he needed was what he had at the time. "If you say so."

Draco nudged him gently to make him look back at the Dragon. "I do, pup, I do."

O'Neill sighed deeply. "We should go, before the Ori come back to gloat."

Draco was about to reply when they heard an unearthly howl. Startled the two looked up to see a giant stream of fire hurling towards them. Draco roared and pulled his right wing up in front of the flame, making it bounce harmlessly into a nearby building. Throwing his wing back he glared down the wide street at the culprit. The Ori looked to be a man made of fire. His eyes were white slits, and his mouth was set in was what looked like sneer of light. He seemed to be at least ten feet tall from where they were standing.

"Draco!" his voice sounded like roaring flame, and it echoed around the empty city and off the crumbling walls. "The Dragon King, and who is this? A human? How pathetic your cause has become!"

O'Neill's eyes turned solid black at the words. "You bastard! You killed them!" He made to run at the fiery beast but Draco stopped him by putting his left wing out. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"No!" Draco shouted back. "You are not ready for this!"

"Yes, I am!" O'Neill shot back. He stared deeply into the Dragon's eyes. Suddenly Draco lowered his wing. The Ori took this as his cue and flew with alarming speed at them. O'Neill leapt into the air, the Ori shooting after him, leaving a blazing trail behind. He glanced back to see it was gaining on him. Good, he thought with a sinister smile. Come to papa you sorry son of a bitch! Suddenly he stopped, causing the Ori to over shoot him. "Die you miserable excuse for life!"

A bright white light erupted from O'Neill's outstretched palms, enveloping the Ori. There was a loud blood curling roar and suddenly the energy faded, leaving nothing in its wake. The Ori had been incinerated by the energy from the Dragon pup. Draco stared amazed at his offspring. He had no idea he could do that already! That was a powerful eruption of energy that he himself had a difficult time controlling in such an emotional state.

"Take that you piece of shit!" O'Neill shouted at the space the Ori used to occupy. Slowly he drifted down to Draco and settled himself next to him. He glanced up at his Dragon father and saw something akin to awe on his face, something he had yet to see from the dragon.

Draco nodded his approval. "That was unexpected from you pup." O'Neill cocked his head to one side. "I had not realized you could control that much energy at a time."

"Neither had I." He admitted truthfully. "But seeing that _thing_," he spat out the last word, "standing there like that set off something inside me that I hadn't felt in a long time." He let out a shaky breath. "I honestly didn't know I could do that."

Draco nodded slowly, trying to understand the implications of this. "Come, we must return to my realm. Eilyanna is waiting, as it Oma Desalla."

"Okay." Jack breathed, then the two were gone in a flash of yellow light.

* * *

Daniel, Sam, Teal'c and Cameron sat in different stages of shock. The Furlings were gone? Daniel thought worriedly. How the hell did the Ori manage to wipe out one of the four great races in less than seven hours? His mind and that of the rest of SG-1's was racing at top speed, each member trying to figure out what had happened.

"I don't understand," Daniel, mumbled, "how could one Ori wipe out an entire civilization?"

"He did Daniel." O'Neill answered, his voice devoid of emotion. "I saw it, the whole city was in ruins. Bodies were piled everywhere and some were just left to lie in the streets. The smoke in the air was so thick it was like a dense fog."

Mitchell looked up. "What happened when you were there?"

"The Ori came back." O'Neill's words were almost a whisper. "We fought, I won."

"God, Jack!" Patrick exclaimed softly. The living room in the cabin was full, every seat being used. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The answer was hollow. "I killed the bastard. One shot and he was gone."

Oma Desalla and two of her most trusted friends watched in silence, unseen by the room's occupants. She knew something in O'Neill had snapped, something had been let out of its cage, something huge, something that would change things forever. The fight with the Ori was a turning point and he had chosen his path, even if he knew not. Events had been set in motion, things that could not be redone. The future was coming, quicker than they could expect or predict.

The flow of time and space, of destiny and free will had been altered, and it would leave them all tumbling over in its wake. The Prophecy had come.

* * *

Well, there ya have it. In all it's melodramatic(sp?) glory! Yeah, I know, kinda stupid, but with stuff like this,stupid is unavoidable(sp?) at times...please review!


	10. Pressure Points

* * *

Eilyanna glanced back out over the mountains, wondering what Oma could possibly mean. This time she did not understand the Ancient. She could not see which way the future was headed, something had begun that they had no control over. The universal order of things was being rearranged and reformed into something they could only guess.

The Mother Dragon didn't know what part her only pup played yet, but it would soon become apparent. The Ori were on the move and nothing could stop them, not even the Furlings, who died trying. The thought of the lost civilization brought back a fresh bout of pain to her heart. The young she had watched grow into the mighty race they were held a place in her heart. She hoped some of them had made it out alive.

"Eilyanna." Oma called softly. "They believe the Prophecy has come."

"This I know." The Mother Dragon answered evenly. "Things shall not be the same."

"When it concerns O'Neill," Oma gave a small smile, "they never are."

Rohahn grunted in agreement. "Indeed. I have guarded that one since he was but a babe." He smiled. "Everywhere he goes he changes things, changes the people, changes the way of life."

"A great gift." Draco intoned. "But one that can cause much pain."

"Too much I fear." Another soft voice answered. "Too much I fear."

"I should hope not Katrina." Oma admonished. Her gray eyes calculated the young Ancient. She had come to them not long ago, after she had left them previously. A man had captured her mind and heart that she could not ignore. She chose something that she had never regretted, and now everyone in this council could agree. For she set the very events that brought them here in motion. She knew something that they all did not. Something, the Old Ancient hoped, would free them all.

"We need him." Desalla answered softly.

* * *

FIVE DAYS LATER

Major General Jack O'Neill was not having a good day. The first thing that happened was his alarm clock broke, followed by his hot water going out, finding no milk in the fridge, bills piled up to the ceiling, his truck not wanting to start, a traffic jam all the way up to the mountain road that led to the SGC, and finally he missed the briefing he was trying to get to in the first place!

Pulling his annoying truck into his parking space he rushed through the security gates before the cloak on his watch ran out. He glanced down and noticed he had thirty minutes to get to the briefing room. Quickly he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for level 11. The old cumbersome machine moved slower than usual, to him anyway.

Finally he made it to the second SGC security check point. Quickly signing his name on the sheet he raced for the second elevator, whose doors were closing. With a sudden burst of speed he made it into the elevator just before the doors had closed beyond redemption. Breathing heavily he glanced at the keypad and noticed that the button for level 27 had already been pressed.

Glancing to his left he saw Dr. Jay Felgar, his assistant Chloe, Lt. Colonel Lou Ferretti, Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman and Captain Jennifer Hailey. He suddenly realized that he knew all of these people and that only one of them knew who he was. His watch told him he had fifteen minutes to get to the briefing room before the cloak wore off. Blowing out an impatient breath he leaned against the left wall to wait.

"Doc." Ferretti greeted with a knowing grin. Jack glared back at him. "Funny seeing you here since the briefing let out ten minutes ago."

"Cute." O'Neill shot back. Walter gave him an apologetic look.

"What took ya?" Lou asked innocently.

"My alarm clock broke." Lou made to speak but Jack continued. "Then my hot water went out, then I opened the fridge to find I had no milk for cereal and had no time to go shopping. Then I knocked over a whole stack of bills and junk mail, my truck wouldn't start and finally, to add the icing on the cake, there was a god damned traffic accident that blocked up the road all the way to the base turn off!"

Ferretti's eyebrows had risen steadily as his rant went on. "Wow, that was one hell of a way to start the day."

"Oh, you bet." Jack muttered darkly.

Felgar whistled and Hailey shook her head in mild amusement, then the lights in the elevator flickered and died. There was a loud metal scraping sound as the elevator stopped abruptly throwing its occupants to the floor in a heap. There was the sound of metal groaning and buckling and the elevator shook, but remained stationary in the shaft.

"Oh f'cryin' out loud!" O'Neill shouted into the darkness. He glanced at his watch and noticed he had ten minutes left. "Why me!"

There was the sound of fabric swishing as people slowly moved to sit. Felgar looked around in the blackness. "Well, I can't see."

O'Neill blew out an angry breath and fished for his flashlight. Switching it on he moved it around to check and see if everyone was okay. The light began to flicker after he had checked around the car and there was a collective groan. "What the hell?" the light went out. "God damn what did I do?"

Ferretti couldn't suppress a laugh. "I am never riding in an elevator with you again!"

Suddenly his watch beeped and the cloak shut down. "Shit!" he was suddenly glad that no one could see in the dark but him. Wait, he could see? Blinking several times he looked quickly around, and sure enough he could see everyone in the car as if the flashlight was still working, it wasn't good but it was enough. "Okay, we need to get out of here."

Just as he spoke the car groaned again. "Oh no!" Hailey exclaimed. "Oh, not good!"

"Ya think?" O'Neill shouted. Suddenly he realized that they would all know his voice. Well, hell.

"General O'Neill?" Sergeant Harriman breathed amazed.

"Yeah." He figured there was no reason to deny it, he knew all of these people after all, he could trust them. "Look, we have to get out of here before…"

"Don't!" Ferretti interrupted. "You'll jinx it! With all the luck you've been having today!"

"Wait…" O'Neill muttered to himself. "What if someone was causing all of this to happen? Trying to keep me from telling General Landry my report?"

"But why?" Hailey asked confused.

"I don't…" The car groaned again, and this time it shook in the shaft. "Oh shit!"

"We have to get out!" Chloe shrieked. "Get us out!"

"I'm working on it!" O'Neill snapped. "Everyone just be quiet!" The order shut everyone up. Taking a deep breath O'Neill closed his eyes and concentrated. The group watched as a bright blue light began to fill the cabin. Suddenly a tingling sensation was felt all around. Everyone was stunned to find them selves out of the car and in a deserted hallway.

O'Neill quickly jumped to his feet. He looked over at the Military personnel that were there with him. They were also standing on shaky feet. Felgar and Chloe were standing and looking at him with strange expressions on their faces. He shrugged noncommittally.

"Uh, Jack," Ferretti began, "what the hell did you do?"

"Got us out of that damn elevator." Just as he said the words they heard the sickening sound of metal breaking and the car plummeted to its doom. A plume of smoke came out from under the door they were standing in front of and suddenly the door began to buckle. "Oh not again!"

The door looked about ready to bust, and it did just that. O'Neill threw his hands out in front of him and the pieces of metal bounced off the shield he had erected in front of them. They all stared into the decimated elevator shaft, then back to a panting O'Neill. He sank to his knees and looked blearily into the shaft. The pieces of the elevator littered the floor in front of them.

"Good lord." Ferretti said softly under his breath.

"We could have all been dead." Hailey observed for the group. Her eyes turned to O'Neill. "Sir, if you hadn't been there we would all be dead."

"Thank God for bad days." Walter answered. He looked over at the General, who was standing upon in shaky feet. "If you hadn't been delayed we wouldn't be here to talk about it, sir."

O'Neill took a deep breath and turned his head up to the ceiling. "Where are you?" he shouted angrily. "Show yourself dammit!"

"General?" Felgar asked timidly. "Uh, who-who are you talking too?"

"Come out you son of a bitch!" There was a crackle of blood chilling laughter as the air in front of the elevator shaft shimmered. A being made of fire appeared, his face set in a sneer.

"O'Neill!" The creature spat. "I should have known it would not be that easy to kill you."

"Ori!" Jack's stance shifted and his eyes turned black. He glared down the menacing creature, his whole stance radiating anger. "You shouldn't have come here!"

"Ori?" Colonel Ferretti pulled his weapon, as did Hailey. Walter grabbed the two scientists and pulled them into the storage closet off to the side. He peeked his head around the door to watch and the other two copied him. "How the hell did it get here?"

"Get into the closet, Ferretti, Hailey!" The General ordered. "Now!"

Stunned by his tone of voice Ferretti and the young Captain did as they were told.

"Ah, they will die as well human." The Ori gloated. "I shall personally see to it!"

"No you won't, Ori!" Two balls of energy began to form in the Dragon pup's hands.

"I am Shaakren!" He bellowed loudly. "You cannot kill me, mortal!" The Ori suddenly noticed the energy, his expression of complete dominance faltered. "You are no mere mortal." Suddenly the Ori let out a blood-curling howl. A large plume of fire erupted from where he was standing. O'Neill threw out the his energy to block the move, and the force of the collision sent him flying back several feet and caused a loud explosion in the hallway.

He looked up from his spot on the floor to find the Ori gone, but he knew he wasn't dead; he had merely fled for his life. Growling in frustration he pushed himself to his feet and stalked over to the storage closet were his friends and colleagues were hiding. He gave them all apologetic looks and orders to talk to SG-1 about what they saw and no one else. He didn't have the time to deal with them now; he had to talk to Draco!

* * *

"So," O'Neill demanded icily, "ya wanna tell me how an Ori managed to get to Earth and wreak havoc?"

Oma flinched at his tone of voice. "I did not allow it!" She glared back at the irate man, determined not to back down. It was not her fault that she wasn't there to stop him. She had order's she was not allowed to disobey at the time, and they included protecting SG-1 and Patrick O'Neill from attack. They were important to O'Neill's future, whether he knew it or not.

"Then who did?" A young Ancient standing by Oma's side timidly stepped forward. His green eyes were full of shame and his brown shaggy hair was plastered to his head with sweat, he looked tired.

"I did." He answered, looking O'Neill square in the eye. "It was my fault. I could not keep him from what he wanted. I am sorry I have failed you all once again."

Jack gave the young man a once over. He didn't seem more than seventeen, barely that even. He was just a kid. Confusion over came his anger for a moment. Why would Oma trust this boy to do something she should have, unless he was more than he appeared at first glance. But what could this young Ancient have to offer? What could this boy possibly do! His anger had returned ten fold. Oma gave this poor kid an insurmountable task!

"Who are you?" O'Neill settled for the laid back approach.

"I am Kynan." The boy answered, his gaze unwavering.

Jack turned his eyes to Oma. "You asked a kid to defend Earth from what we now know to be one of the strongest Ori?"

Kynan looked insulted. "I have been alive longer than you, O'Neill! I know what I am doing!"

"No, you don't!" The General shouted back. "You may have been alive for one hundred years but you are still a boy! You can't be expected to fight with the same power as a fully grown adult!"

"And why not?" Kynan demanded hotly. "I can fight the Ori! I have been doing so for a long time! Certainly longer than you! I know what I am doing, O'Neill!"

He walked out from behind Oma and up to O'Neill. "You are just a human who has gotten in the way! What could you possibly do?"

"Oh, no you don't." O'Neill's tone was soft but deadly. "I'm not your average run-of-the-mill human. You are talking to the son of Draco and Eilyanna and you had better start realizing it!"

"Enough!" Rohahn bellowed, stopping their argument. Kynan had gone a strange shade of white. "The fact of this matter is: we have all made a mistake." O'Neill looked about to protest, but Rohahn silenced him with a look. "Desalla should not have sent Kynan to do her work, and you O'Neill should not use your title in such away. Draco would not be pleased."

"It seems to be the only way to get people to listen!" O'Neill shot back. "How am I supposed to protect my planet when no one will take me seriously? You tell me what I should do, Rohahn!"

"You could earn their respect and calm your temper!" O'Neill winced when he heard Eilyanna's irate voice. She turned her angry gaze to Oma, Kynan and the other two Ancients. "And you must learn that Draco and I have entrusted Earth to our pup. With this in mind, you should also know that in all matters pertaining to that planet he is the final authority."

The lot of them looked suitability chastised. O'Neill let out a breath and turned to look at the Mother Dragon. "What I want to understand is why did he leave Earth entirely."

"I came to your rescue." Eilyanna answered calmly. "Had I not you, your friends, and the rest of your planet would have been destroyed."

The weight of her words sunk in and O'Neill realized how close he had come to losing everything he fought for. It sent a chill down his spine. The fact that one Ori could have taken him out, then the SGC, followed by Earth sent a strange sensation to his stomach. He wasn't strong enough yet, that much he knew. But somehow he knew he would be, knew that he would be able to fight Shaakren again and win. The thought chased away the shivers and brought back his sense of purpose. He would kill that demonic being if it was the last thing he did.

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Uh...sorry 'bout the wait...I've been very busy lately...


	11. Repairing the Heart

And thus starts the long awaited chapter eleven! Enjoy!

* * *

Sam Carter stared at the man currently standing on her doorstep. He fidgeted nervously glancing anywhere but at her. She hadn't seen Jack O'Neill this nervous before; he seemed almost paranoid, which was not surprising. Someone had tried to kill him and technically he was dead, at least according to all state and official records.

"Uh, are you gonna let me in?" Sam blinked; she hadn't realized she was staring. Taking a deep breath she stepping back and let him in side, closing the door behind him.

Jack looked around the room, his gaze settled on the fireplace, or more accurately one of the pictures on the mantle. It was of the two of them at Cassie's birthday party. They were sitting in two of the lounge chairs on the deck smiling at each other. Then O'Neill realized something. He had been gone for five months and the woman staring intently at him had been grieving for him, not knowing he was okay.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat he turned to look at her. When Daniel had told him she wanted to talk to him weeks ago, he had tried but so many things had gotten in the way. He didn't understand exactly what she had wanted then, but he could imagine what it had been, probably to chew him out because he had been alive and she hadn't known.

"Carter," he said slowly, "I'm sorry. It's all I can say. I'm sorry putting you through what I did, but I had no choice! You have to know that!"

"So that's why you're here?" She asked quietly, her voice firm. "You came to apologize? To try to explain away the grief?"

"No! I-" Jack stopped, unsure of what to say. He looked away. "I don't know why I'm here…" He whispered. "Look, Carter, all I can say is I'm sorry. If you need more than that, then you've asked the wrong person…"

"Maybe I didn't." She replied; a spark came to life in her blue eyes. "Maybe you are just the person I need to put all of this behind me, General."

Jack winced at the title. Glancing back up at her, he realized what she had said. "I don't understand, Sam. How can I help you with something I caused in the first place? It's my fault you're angry and hurt."

Sam swallowed, her jaw set and her eyes were like fire. "Yes, it is your fault." Jack looked away at her bluntness. "But you can fix it."

"How?" He looked back towards her. "How can I, Sam? I pushed you too far, so far that I have lost your trust and friendship! I screwed up! Royally! With you, with Daniel, and Teal'c, and Mitchell as well! And nothing that I do or say will win that trust and friendship back!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Her voice was hard, her stance determined. "Because despite what you must think, you haven't lost my friendship. My trust? Possibly. But my friendship is still there, Jack."

He let out a shaky breath and turned his dark eyes towards her. "Only your friendship?" He heard her sharp intake of breath and realized he'd spoken aloud. "Crap! I-I- didn't mean- shit!" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"

Sam watched him stumble over his words with mild amusement that was dominated by shock at what he had said. Did that mean he still cared? Even after all of the things that had happened to them, did he still care? Even after Pete? And even after his move to Washington? She shifted to her other foot and glanced at him, uncertainty shining in her eyes.

"Did you mean that?" She asked quietly. Jack stopped mid rant and looked at her with wide eyes. Did she ask what I think she asked? He thought confused. Why in the world would she…?

"Yes." He answered his voice sounded scratchy. "Yeah, I meant it. I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't…"

Sam nodded her head quickly. Her eyes were shining with something that he hadn't seen in them in a long time. She looked ready to fall apart almost, but then he saw a spark in her eyes that wasn't there before, it made her look alive again, something he thought he'd never see. "To answer your question, Jack," she paused, leaving him to hold his breath waiting for her answer. "No, not just my friendship."

The words seemed to make all the air leave his lungs, his heart was pounding madly in his chest and he could swear she could hear it thudding against his ribs. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed he walked slowly over to her, not sure what he was intending to do, only thinking that he needed to be closer to her to say what he wanted to say.

"Then…" He stopped in front of her, on inches away. "That means…what?" he drawled, his voice lowered an octave.

"That despite…appearances," Sam stopped, she couldn't think very well with him standing so close to her! He was driving her crazy, her brain shut down and she couldn't form a coherent thought, well not a very big one anyway. "I still care." Suddenly she found a strength she didn't know she possessed. "I care so much that when I found out you where dead I nearly died myself! I care so much that it felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest! I couldn't stand the thought of going on with out you! If it wasn't for Cassie I don't think I could have!"

O'Neill's eyes got progressively wider as she spoke, his stance reflected shock as he stared at her in amazement. Did she just say what I think she said? His mind kept turning that one sentence over and over in his head, wondering what had possessed her to say it. "You…" he stopped, his voice dropping out from under him. "Sam, I- I'm sorry for causing you the pain that I could have avoided, I just didn't know what to do! You have to believe me!"

Sam looked away from him for a moment. "I understand, its just…god! I thought I was used to feeling these feelings, but when you left for DC you were gone and I didn't have worry about it anymore, and then you died…"

Jack took in a deep breath and walked over and pulled her into a hug. He held on tight for fear that she might disappear. "God, Sam! I care too! You have to know! I didn't know what to do with out you there…so I just tried to put it behind me…"

Sam merely nodded into his shoulder, her voice seeming to have left her, and he understood. He didn't feel the need for words just standing there holding her. It was the least he could do for her; after all he owed her more, so much more. Beyond the fact that he owed her his life more times than he cared to count she also held his heart, something he thought he had beaten from himself. Though, as he stood here he realized that he had only been kidding himself with that notion, he hadn't banished his love for her at all, it had only gotten stronger.

Slowly after what seemed like hours but was only really a few minutes Jack pulled back to look into her eyes. "I'll always be there, Sam, don't ever doubt it."

Carter took in a shaky breath. "I know, Jack, I know."

Before he could speak again the phone rang. Jack jumped back in surprise when he felt it vibrating and playing out a shrill merry tune on his belt. Fumbling he managed you yank it off the clip and put it to his ear.

"What?" He barked down the receiver. Sam snorted at his tone of voice and went into the kitchen to get two beers.

"_Nice to talk to you too, Jack." _Daniel snarked over the phone, his tone radiated annoyance.

"Sorry, Danny." Jack apologized. "You just have the _worst_ timing."

"_Yes, well, when I got an unexpected visit from Ferretti, Hailey, Harriman, Felgar and Chloe I decided that after I explained exactly what you did I would call you." _He didn't sound happy, Jack noticed, he sounded downright pissed off. Joy.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that." He answered sheepishly. "I had to go see a friend, it was really important and I didn't have anytime to explain it to them."

"Jack." Daniel's voice sound annoyed again. "How did an Ori get into the SGC? Why did you have to do something about it in front of them?"

"We got stuck in the elevator." Sam's ears perked up at this. It sounded like a good story was about to be told. Jack continued on with it. "And it was about to fall down ten stories so I got everyone out. Then the elevator exploded in the shaft and I used a shield to keep them from getting killed! Next thing I know this Ori appears in the hallway and throws this big honkin' fire ball at me! What was I supposed to do Daniel?"

"Oh." Daniel sounded suitably chastised. "Sorry, I just assumed…well, I don't know what I assumed…"

Jack smirked, and looked over at Carter, who looked worried. He had yet to tell them about his meeting with Eilyanna and co., and about his horrible, no good, abso-freakin'-lutely bad day. "Yeah, I figured. Look, Daniel, I'm at Carter's right now. The two of us will be at the SGC in about an hour, give Teal'c and Mitchell a heads up, oh and Landry too while you're at it. I have a few things to tell you guys."

Daniel sighed down the phone. _"Okay, Jack, see ya in a few." _There was the telltale click when Daniel hung up the phone, and O'Neill slowly closed his. He winced slightly and put it back into its holder. Daniel was so pissed off at him it wasn't even funny. That conversation was barely civil and he realized he had to talk to the disgruntled archeologist before things got way out of hand. Like they haven't already, he thought ruefully.

"What did Daniel want, sir?" Sam asked, handing him a beer.

"Oh, well, he was pissed because I used him as a scapegoat." O'Neill sighed. "I don't suppose you've heard the story of my horrible, no good, abso-freakin'-lutely bad day, have you?"

Sam smirked at his description, "No, sir I don't believe I have." She walked past him and into the living room. "Though, I'm sure you'd love to tell me!"

"Oh, you bet!" he called from the kitchen and he walked down the hallway to her. He smiled and sat down next to her. She looked expectantly at him and he sighed resignedly. "Well, here goes nothin'…"

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Yes, and here is chapter eleven. Now, I have to warn you that I only have three chapters left that are already written, and once they are posted chances are there won't be another chapter for quite some time. Just a fair warning. Please review!


	12. The Ties That Bind

This is chapter 12! Enjoy folks!

* * *

"So, let me get this straight." Mitchell's eyebrow's knit together in mild confusion. "Oma Desalla left a young Ancient named Kynan in her place so she could do…what exactly?"

O'Neill let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know! She wouldn't tell me no matter how hard I pressed her!" He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head before he did something stupid. The cloak on his watch was activated, making him look like one of the SGC's scientists. He had managed, with Carter's help, to make it work longer than three hours; it now lasted up to a day. "Believe me I tried to guess but that didn't work either! She was being cryptic and stubborn, spouting off stupid Zen crap!"

Daniel sent him a glare at that remark, and O'Neill chose to ignore it. "Okay, what did she say?"

"Besides denying that it was her fault Shaakren got here in the first place? Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Jack pinched the bridge of his nose; he so felt a headache coming on! "Kynan wasn't being very forthcoming either, and I have a feeling Eilyanna is hiding something too." He stopped talking and looked down at the table. "But, I got the feeling it had nothing to do with that conversation, at least not directly, and knowing her she'll tell me when I need to know and not a moment before."

"Fair enough." Landry surmised. "You said she stopped this 'Shaakren', how did she do it? From what you've told me he is high up on their chain of command."

"She just removed him from our dimension." O'Neill answered. "And I think she sent him back to his, or something to that effect. She didn't engage him if that's what you mean."

"Impressive." Teal'c intoned.

"Is, Kynan okay?" Carter asked. She seemed genuinely concerned for the young Ancient. "From what you've told us sir, he fought with Shaakren, that had to be well…tiring."

"Yeah, he's fine." O'Neill answered. "I made sure myself. Poor kid."

"I don't understand why Desalla chose him." Mitchell looked over at O'Neill.

"I don't either." General O'Neill replied.

"Did you ask her?" Daniel asked as if it were obvious, he still seemed pissed off about the elevator incident. Not that it was surprising, the official story going around was maintenance failure, and besides the poor souls who were in the elevator with O'Neill, only the people in this room knew the real reason, some more than others. He had yet to tell Landry the full story to his disappearance. As far as he was concerned Eilyanna rescued them from the elevator as well.

"What do you think, Daniel?" Jack sniped angrily. "Of course I asked her! And what do you think she said? Some dumbass thing about a river!"

Carter smirked, and Daniel looked down right angry. "Yes, Jack, that is exactly like you! Make up some stupid crack about the situation and it will resolve itself! Did you think that maybe what she said was the answer you were looking for? Did you even stop to think and remember what she said? For all you know the Others had forbidden her to tell you!"

"Then why spout off some stupid riddle?" O'Neill demanded hotly. "Don't you think they would have figured out what she said? Why not tell me out right? It wouldn't make one damn bit off difference!"

"Maybe in your eyes!" Daniel shouted back just as hotly. "Because you can't stop to think beyond five minutes! Did you think that maybe the Others had forbidden her to tell you directly? Maybe she was giving you clues to solve it on your own! God, Jack! Stop and think for one second! It might actually do you good!"

"Hey, watch it!" O'Neill warned the irate man. His jaw clenched tightly as he stared down the blue-eyed linguist. He was angry, and not just about O'Neill thoughtlessness. It ran way deeper than that, much deeper. Jack sighed softly. "Look, Daniel, I'm sorry okay. What more do you want me to say?"

Daniel looked away; his angry gaze was turned to the ground to his left. "I don't know, Jack." He looked back up, confusion and hurt had replaced the anger in his eyes. "I don't know what…you were dead! I thought you had died and I would never see you again! Then you waltzed back into our lives thinking that everything was going to be okay! Just like you did when you went on that covert mission six years ago."

Jack winced at the blatant pain in the young man's voice. "I'm sorry. God, I've really made a mess of things haven't I?"

"Indeed you have, O'Neill." Teal'c interrupted, his tone seemed flat, devoid of the emotion O'Neill knew the jaffa was feeling.

Jack looked down at the table, his stance was subdued, his arms placed shoulder length in front of him, his head was bowed and he seemed to be thinking. What have I done? He thought sorrowfully. What have I ruined? What can I do to change this? To fix this so my friends aren't hurting anymore? God, Draco what should I do?

'_What you have always done, pup.'_ O'Neill shut his eyes as he heard the dragon's disembodied voice. He knew he was the only one who could hear him, but it didn't make it any easier. _'You can fix their broken spirits, just like you have always done for them. Deep down inside of them, they still trust you and still call you friend. You simply have to reach that part of them.'_

Jack looked up, a new light in his brown eyes. "I've screwed up, just like I always do." He glanced over at Daniel, who had his arms wrapped around his mid section. "But, I know that you understand that too. I can't take away the pain and the memories, I can't change the past. But I can make sure that what happens from now on will not be shadowed by that pain and those memories."

Daniel locked eyes with his hopeful friend. "Okay," he breathed quietly, "I can accept that, Jack."

"As can I." Teal'c replied, his tone held a skeptic edge, but he was willing to try.

Jack turned to look at General Landry. "Well, if you don't mind Hank, I have work to do."

Landry pushed himself up out of his seat, and the rest of SG-1 did the same. "Then get too it, Jack."

Jack smirked and watched as the General walked back into his office, closing the door behind him. He glanced over at his team, who had walked around to the table to join him. Sam had a small smile on her face, and he smiled back, unable to help himself. Looking over at Daniel and Mitchell he finally saw acceptance in their eyes. A strange feeling filled him, and his smile turned into a grin.

"So, whose up for a game of basketball?"

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Yeah, I know it was short, only 1100 words, ish. Anyway the game of basket ball shall be next! Oh, and I now have sixteen chapters written. Please drop me a note!


	13. Playtime

And this folks, is chapter 13! A brief little interlude, of sorts...pay attention though!

* * *

He seemed all right, Katrina noticed as she watched him try to slam dunk the basketball. O'Neill had been attempting to do so the entire game, much to his teammate's annoyance. He was acting like his old self again, joking and rough housing with his friends. It was good to see him like that, with the light back in his eyes and the spring in his step.

"Oh!" Mitchell gave O'Neill a high five, the dunk had almost gone in, and he had managed to keep it away from Teal'c this time. Smirking Mitchell chased Daniel around the room trying to get the ball from him. Daniel ducked under his arm and raced back towards the other end of the court, only for O'Neill to run by him and snatch the ball before he had a chance to think.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel wined, bent over his knees and breathing hard to catch a breath. He glanced over at Sam who was in hot pursuit of the General. He smirked and watched as he tap danced around her and made to slam-dunk the ball for the hundredth time. "Yeah right, Jack!"

Katrina smiled in amusement as Teal'c reached up and knocked the ball down to the ground. She laughed softly as Carter fielded it, in her haste to get around O'Neill she brushed his shoulder, causing both of them to loose their balance and the ball. Grinning she watched as Jackson took the opportunity to go after it, only to be beaten to it by Cameron Mitchell, who came out of nowhere.

"Go!" Jack shouted at Cameron, he spun around Sam and passed the ball to Jack. O'Neill caught it and ran towards the hoop, he spotted Teal'c out of the corner of his eye and jumped. He reached up with the ball and successfully dunked the ball into the hoop. Landing with a thump and loosing his balance he somersaulted once and was up on his feet, grinning madly.

"Nice!" Mitchell smirked at him. He turned to look at Daniel. "What did I say, huh?"

Jackson looked amused and slightly annoyed at the same time. "Yeah, yeah."

Katrina smiled down at the humans as they continued the game, Teal'c and Carter both hounding O'Neill, as he seemed to find a new mastery of basketball. Katrina knew where it came from of course, he had read his teammates in the beginning of the game and could now predict what they would do next, and his movements began to move faster as he unconsciously started to use his Dragon skills.

She smiled as he made yet another dunk, this time landing easily. Daniel gaped at him, his eyes wide and Teal'c looked down right confused. Mitchell had a knowing look on his face and Carter was glaring at him. Katrina knew that she had chosen Teal'c's team because of the stories she had heard of his skill. Cameron in a daring move had declared that he and General O'Neill could 'kick their assess' and it had resulted in the current team arrangement.

"O'Neill." Teal'c looked at him with a curious expression. "How were you able to move so quickly?"

"I did?" Jack glanced over at a scowling Daniel and an extremely smug Mitchell. "Oopps." He offered unapologetically.

"Sir!" Carter looked annoyed. "You cheated!"

"Hey!" Mitchell interrupted. "What do ya mean he cheated?"

"Oh." O'Neill looked at his feet for a brief moment. "I guess ya didn't know I could move really fast did ya?"

"No." Daniel stated, his voice held and air of impatience. He shifted his stance, his arms crossed over his chest. "Care to tell us what else you can do, Jack?"

Katrina watched in interest as he began to slowly explain. "I, uh, can change things."

"Change things?" Carter asked, ever the scientist. Her blue eyes were fixed on the Dragon pup's she wanted to know every aspect of his knew found skills. Katrina happened to agree; after all, she had been watching him ever since his mother had died. He was important to her, and she needed to know what he could and could not do to keep him safe.

"I turned a twig into a rock." O'Neill answered evenly. He glanced back and forth from friend to friend. He knew that they might never fully understand what he was about to tell them with out seeing and experiencing it for themselves, but now was not the time for a demonstration. "And lit a fire just by snapping my fingers. I can, fly, kinda, and as you know, throw energy around if I feel like it."

"And throw a man five feet through the air." Mitchell added, with an awed look on his face. "That had to be the most memorable night I spent at O'Malley's Bar and Grill."

Katrina gasped at this. She had no idea he could do those things! No one had told her he had advanced that far! The only thing she knew was his fight with the two Ori, and even that was limited at best. If he could already change things, then they were indeed farther into the Prophecy than even Oma believed. But somehow, she knew that Eilyanna had already known all of this before even the Ancients did.

Draco and Eilyanna never said anything until the time was right, until the information was needed, or unless the person in question could not find it on their own. It was frustrating at times, but in the end she knew they were right. To reveal one's destiny before the time was right was to spell doom on all those involved, and in this case it was vitally important that they use caution. If O'Neill or his friends, or even the Ori, knew before the time was right then things would begin to happen for the worst.

"Really?" O'Neill's eyebrows rose. "I thought it was when you-"

"Can we not talk about that?" Mitchell quickly interrupted, causing everyone to grin. He shifted nervously in place. "Besides, it doesn't matter anyway."

Jack shrugged noncommittally. "Well, now that this illuminating conversation is over, can we get back to the game?"

Daniel sent Jack a glare. "Don't use any of your…skills, and we'll think about it."

Carter smiled at O'Neill crestfallen look, her eyes shining with laughter. "I don't know, sir, can you do it?"

His eyes shifted from big puppy dog eyes, to shining with a fire in them that meant he would not back down from a challenge. Katrina smiled proudly at him, even though he could not see her. He was most definitely Draco's boy, he could not refuse a challenge, no matter how hard it seemed. It would be good practice for him anyway, a chance to learn how to control his abilities better, and not use them when they weren't really needed, such as during a friendly game of basketball. Though, with a jaffa playing, it wouldn't be friendly for very long…

"Oh, you bet I can!" With that last comment, the game resumed, leaving Katrina to watch and wait for the appropriate time to approach O'Neill once again.

* * *

And that was the game of basketball I just had to write! Chapter fourteen might not be up for a week because I'm going to my grandmother's how because my parents are going house hunting on the other side of the US! Please drop me a line!


	14. An Enlightening Game of Cards

Howdy! Sorry for the wait. A day after I got back from my grandmother's I had to evacutate from a hurricane. I took the chapters of my story on my MP3 Player, but forgot my USB chord, so that was kind of uselesss. Anyway, after not posting for two weeks, here is the next chapter!

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER

After several days spent waiting, Katrina had taken an opportunity, that at the time had seemed wise, now she was not so sure. O'Neill seemed to be angry at her, for some odd reason, though she was sure she could figure it out if she spared it a seconds thought. But, she really didn't want to. The reason hurt too much for her to think on it long enough.

"Look…" O'Neill blew out on a breath. "I really don't think this is the answer to all of this. I don't think the Prophecy has anything to do with what you think it does! I'm not the one you're looking for, Katrina."

The old Ancient looked away for a moment, then turned back to look at the warrior standing in front of her. "I understand why you think this, but you have to understand, we have had longer to analyze this than you have!"

"Why are you so set on it being me?" O'Neill asked, confusion marring his features. "Why me? Can't any of the Dragons do it themselves?"

Katrina gave him a pointed look. "Do you not think if it was one of them, they would have solved this problem already?"

O'Neill gave her a helpless look. "What do you want from me? Deep theology? I don't know why! You are so barking up the wrong tree with this question!"

"It was your question!" Katrina argued back indignantly, then suddenly realized what she had done. Glaring angrily at him she continued. "I will not let you get out from under this! You needed to know, and I have told you!"

Jack rolled his eyes dramatically. "Spare me, please!" He shifted his stance to that of annoyance. "Look, I don't know what you want me to do! Okay? Eilyanna knows that, which is why she told you to tell me probably…"

"What purpose would that serve?"

"To get me to think, Katrina." O'Neill said as if it were obvious. "She knows that I will find another option."

Katrina seemed stunned at this revelation. "What other way?"

"One that doesn't involve me or anyone else dead, hurt or worse." Jack said quietly, but nonetheless firm. It was then the Ancient realized she was dealing with something that none of them could predict, even Eilyanna and Draco, the masters of human thinking and reasoning. This man standing before her was an unknown variable, a dangerous one she was glad was on their side.

_

* * *

_

_Into the night that was for told_

_A light will shine on those_

_Who try to corrupt and kill_

_Who see the world as theirs to rule_

_A mighty warrior of the tales of men_

_Dragons, strong enough to defend_

_The souls of those of whom they care_

_For what is life without freedom?_

_This freedom will be given to them_

_By the holder of the Soul of the Dragon_

O'Neill sighed. The words had been going around his brain in circles for the better part of an hour. He couldn't shake them, and he feared that he was the one in the tale. He didn't want to be. And the niggling thought that something was missing wouldn't go away either. But, that thought was infinitely more pleasant than the other one.

Looking across the living room of his house at the TV he wondered if the people there had any idea what it was really like out in the world. If any of them knew that someone was fighting to keep their freedom. From the way the Media acted, he figured they didn't give a shit. All they did was bash the good people fighting for their freedom. The news made him angry, and he realized that it was probably a good idea to turn it off before he blew up half of his living room.

Reaching for the remote he switched off the TV.

"Hey!" Daniel protested. He shifted in his seat to glare at O'Neill. "Jack! We were watching that!"

Jack took a deep breath and tried to quell his anger, it didn't do much. "Daniel," he said slowly, "would you like to turn it back on and see what happens?"

Jackson gave him a confused look. O'Neill rolled his eyes. "The TV wouldn't be there any more."

'Oh' Daniel mouthed silently. He raised his eyebrows briefly then turned back over to Mitchell, who was also glaring at the now silent television. "Yeah…"

Carter chuckled lightly and turned to look at the jaffa sitting in the lazy boy chair. "So, anyone up for a game of Poker?"

"Yeah, sure, you betcha." Jack deadpanned. He reached over the coffee table and snagged the cards from Daniel's fingers before he could protest. Smirking he began to quickly shuffle the cards. His teammates watched as his hands and the cards moved quickly and smoothly, and then began to move faster, until it was just a blur. Suddenly, he stopped and set the cards down on the table. Ignoring his team's stunned looks he spoke.

"So, who wants to deal?" Mitchell shook his head and grabbed the cards. He cast Jack another look and began to deal the cards.

After that was done they began to bet and drop cards. O'Neill glanced over at Daniel and looked carefully at him, making the archeologist squirm in his seat. Jack held back a grin and looked over at Carter, fixing her with the same look. Teal'c watched over the top of his cards as he arranged them in the order that he desired. Mitchell gave Jack a confused look when he was also stared down, but then O'Neill was suddenly done.

"Okay…" he smirked. "Time to bet!"

"One dollar." Sam threw the money on the coffee table. Daniel shrugged and threw in a buck, and the rest of the group quickly followed suit. It was now O'Neill's turned to bet as he was sitting on the couch next to Carter.

"Okey dokey…" he mumbled, throwing fifty cents into the pot. "I'll raise ya, Carter."

Mitchell and Daniel put the correct amount in the pot to stay in the game, Teal'c however, folded. "I do not believe I will win this round O'Neill."

Jack shrugged; it was Daniel's turn to bet. He threw in a quarter, and Carter, Mitchell and O'Neill followed suit. Cameron smirked at the three people left in the game. "I'll raise you a dollar."

"Really?" Carter smiled oh-so-sweetly over at him, and threw in her dollar. Daniel fidgeted in his seat.

"I'll fold." Danny threw his cards down on the table, revealing a pair of twos. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow at him, Daniel shrugged back.

"Alright-y then." Jack glanced to his left at Carter, then over to his right at Mitchell. He put his dollar in, then added twenty-five cents. "I'll raise."

Mitchell and Carter threw in a quarter. Sam glanced at Jack, then turned to the group. "I'll meet that, and raise you fifty cents."

"I fold." Mitchell threw his cards down, showing his hand of absolutely nothing. Daniel laughed, and Jack snickered. Teal'c gave him a look that said 'Are you nuts?' and Sam merely smiled at him. Turning to O'Neill she looked him in the eye, he looked back.

"I'll call it." Jack laid his hand on the table, which happened to be four of a kind sevens. Carter shrugged and played her hand three of kind Aces.

Mitchell whistled. "Damn!" he looked at Jack. "How did you know?"

"I listened." Jack said simply.

"Listened?" Jackson gave O'Neill another confused look.

"All I had to do was watch your reactions to your hands." Jack shrugged. "When you get a bad hand, you wince, Danny. Carter, when you get a good hand, you try to suppress that annoying smile, and Teal'c merely stares straight a head instead of down at his cards when he gets a bad one. Mitchell just fidgets, the more fidgeting the worse the hand."

Teal'c seemed somewhat impressed at this, Mitchell looked rather stunned, as did Daniel and Sam.

"Wow." Jackson muttered. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Sir…" Sam started carefully. "Have you…always been able to do that?"

O'Neill's smirk widened. "Maybe, maybe not."

"How could you remember it?" Mitchell gave him a comical look of confusion mixed with indignation.

"I dunno." O'Neill shrugged. "C'mon, lets get back to the game." A round of laughter followed and the game of poker began.

_For what is life without freedom? This freedom will be given to them,_ by the holder of_ the Soul of the Dragon…_

* * *

Yeah, I know, boring interlude, but still! I have posted a chapter for all of you who are following thing pethetic excuse for a story. Now, if you could drop me a line of constructive critisisum(sp?) I'd be very pleased, if you can't do that, then just write a plain old review...Thanks! 


	15. The Answer to the Question

Okey dokey then, here is chapter fifteen. I have eighteen chapters written so far, and I don't know when I'm going to write another one. But, I will say that Atlantis is in your future folks! I said I would bring us back there, and I will. All the little plot lines that you have seen, will be completed, I will tied up every loose end by the time this story is finished, trust me! So, with that out of the way,on with the story then!

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER

Staring at the file in her hand, Sam Carter wondered what in the world had possessed the man to have it shipped to her. It's not like she wasn't trust worthy, that wasn't the issue. But the issue, was however, why send it to her? Why not have it sent directly to himself? Sighing at her once dead friend's weird thought process she pushed up out of her chair and made for his 'new' office.

He had used that nifty little cloaking device to mask his appearance and signed on to the SGC as a Doctor Jon Anderson, with a degree in Astronomy, which she knew he really had. Smirking at that thought, Sam sliced her card through the reader and stepped into the now open elevator car. It had taken them awhile to replace the shaft after the Ori, Shaakren, had destroyed it, but now it was full functional.

Glancing down at the file with nothing more than two pages of paper inside she wondered if he knew what any of the gibberish inside meant, because, she sure didn't. The only thing in there that made any sense at all was a name. Alexander Scott. That happened to be the only readable thing in the file, and Sam realized that was probably the point.

Taking a deep breath she stepped out of the elevator and walked quickly to his lab. Glancing in the door she saw him, or rather the projected image of a green-eyed man with black hair like Daniel's when he first started the Stargate Program, bent over a microscope. She heard him curse, adjust the knob, then curse again. Smirking she knocked lightly on the open door jam.

"Dr. Anderson." Sam called, still amused at his name. O'Neill's head jerked up and turned swiftly in her direction. He spotted the file and cocked his head to the side.

"What've you got?" He had a slight English accent that wasn't there before, completing the charade. Sam smirked.

"Uh, this came for you." Sam walked over and handed him the file. He glanced inside briefly before putting it in the bio-locked third drawer of his workbench.

"Huh, wonder why it came to you." Shrugging he closed the drawer. "Well, not too important." His voice was light, not as deep as it was with out the image inducer. Jack looked up at her, his green eyes shining. "Hey, you want to go get some lunch?"

Sam smiled and ducked her head. Glancing back up at him she answered, "Sure."

"Sweet."

* * *

"So, what was in the file, anyway?" Sam asked, after a slight lull in the almost constant conversation.

"The name of the sniper who shot me." O'Neill answered softly, only loud enough for her to hear. "The rest of it was code, they still think I'm dead."

Sam smirked. "Do we have a location?"

"No, not yet." Jack sighed regretfully. He glanced around the commissary and spotted Daniel and Teal'c in the lunch line, followed by Mitchell. The three of them glanced his way and he gave them a small half smile. "But, I will soon, I hope."

Carter took a sip of her diet coke. "Why shoot you?"

"Well…I wasn't cooperating." Jack answered simply. "I had received at least a dozen threats from them already, I guess they just gave up and decided to shoot me instead."

"Do you know who the President appointed as Chief of HomeWorld Security?" Sam chewed on a bite of salad, watching as her three teammates made their way over to the table.

"Not a clue." Jack shrugged and dug into his macaroni and cheese with a new enthusiasm. He didn't know who this Alexander Scott was, but he knew he would find out eventually. He just had to read the whole coded message, not glance at it briefly. Though the other issue that Carter had brought up weighed on his mind as well, who had taken his place? Had the President even filled the spot yet? It had been six months after all; he probably had someone in there within a week of his 'death'.

"We could ask someone." Daniel supplied as he sat down at the table, his tray full of fruit and a tuna sandwich. "Besides, I'm sure General Landry knows, all we have to do is ask him."

"Yeah, maybe." Mitchell replied. "It would be good to find out though."

"Well, he can't be that bad." Carter interjected. "The SGC is still running."

"Yeah, that's definitely a plus." O'Neill supplied, his English accent making Daniel smirk. Jack glared over at him. "Though I wonder why Scott would kill me for nothing."

"Indeed," Teal'c intoned, "that is the puzzling question. Your death would serve no purpose if they could not replace you with someone like General Bauer."

"I know." Jack sighed. "I hope the file I got today sheds some light on this."

With that, the five friends ate their lunch, the topic of Homeworld security and assassins forgotten. Though, O'Neill knew that something was coming, he just couldn't figure what at the moment. His thoughts on this left him though, as he and Mitchell began discussing last night's hockey game. Things would work out in the end, that much he knew.

* * *

Glancing again at the file in his hands, O'Neill slowly typed in the e-mail address into the requested line. He knew what he needed to do to get more information and this was just the thing. Carefully he worded the mail so it would look like and innocuous communiqué from an old friend. He knew was dangerous to this but he didn't have any choice.

The only thing the file hadn't told him was where to find Scott, it had given him every other detail of his life however. The only doubt O'Neill had about finding Scott's location was the fact that he might be dead, in which case finding him would be moot point. Shrugging, he clicked send and hoped that the mail made it through with out tampering.

Logging off the computer he went about his nightly routine of shutting down for the night. Once the lab was dark and every piece of equipment turned off or put away he walked out of the lab and straight into Cameron Mitchell.

"Sorry!" Mitchell winced. He glanced around the empty hallway; it was 0230hs in the morning after all. "I, uh, wanted to talk to you."

"About?" Jack made a 'get on with it' motion.

Mitchell fidgeted nervously where he stood. "This whole business with the Ori. I just don't understand some of it."

"Ask Daniel." Jack snapped, then regretted it. "Sorry, I'm tired. What is it that you don't understand?"

"Why don't the Ancients ask the Nox or the Asgard for help? Why rely on you and the…dragons?" Mitchell stared at O'Neill for a moment. "I don't understand why they put all of this responsibility on your shoulders. What can one man do? No offense, sir."

O'Neill sighed softly. "I don't know, Mitchell." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know why they think I can solve all of their problems. It's their choice to believe what they believe. I'm just going to do my job, not worry about the future."

Mitchell nodded mutely. "Thanks, sir. I guess I just needed to know…" He looked away. "Never mind, sir, good night."

Jack watched him go with a weird feeling settling in his gut. What had happened? Why in the world had he asked those questions? It didn't seem like the man he knew, but he was willing to watch and see. The feeling that it wasn't just Mitchell who was feeling like this wouldn't go away as he walked down the hallways and to the elevator.

Something was up with SG-1.

* * *

And that was chapter fifteen, hope ya liked it! Please give constructive comments, and if ya can't, then give me at least one sentence abou this pethectic excuse for fan fiction!


	16. Pegasus Unearthed

Oh, look! It's a miracle! I posted an update! You will find an explanation as to why I haven't posted in a while at the end of the chapter, so read on folks!

* * *

Colonel Sheppard stared out at the ocean before him. It was around sunset, making the view spectacular. The sun was drifting slowly down to the horizon, alighting the clouds with yellows, gold's, and reddish colors. The city below was bathed in an orange light, contrasting off the blue and silver of the city's walls and other construction.

He had a good view of the Deadelus from his balcony, the ship was magnificent, it's normally dull gray hull shining with the light from the setting sun. The ship looked small up against the city however, the Ancients giant creation dwarfing everything but the planet itself. John couldn't help himself to not be amazed at the sight every night around this time.

It was what he loved to do at the end of the day, it was one of the things that made it all worth it. Saving this city, the view, the people of this galaxy was what made everything worth it, even if they ran into strange Phase Shifters along the way. He still couldn't get Drell out of his mind for some reason. He had a feeling in his gut that the man would be back, or at least the other people who wanted those stones.

After three weeks they still hadn't found any reference to the stones in the city's database. Even he had tried to find something, anything that could give them a clue as to what they were and why they were so important to these 'Dragons'. That was the only part of the tale that he didn't believe. There was no such thing as Dragons, that much he knew.

But convincing Ronan was an impossible task. He was convinced that Draco and Eilyanna were real, and that they were Dragons. He wasn't so sure about the Dragon part, but they had to exist in some form, other wise they wouldn't have found Drell.

"Sheppard!" John turned around to see Ronan step out onto the balcony. He glanced out at the sunset. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" John breathed. He looked Dex in the eye. "But you didn't come here to tell me that, did you?"

"No." Ronan answered simply. "I've been thinking about Drell."

"Really?" John turned back to the sunset.

"There had to be something we missed." Ronan stated, that made Sheppard whirl around to look at him. "I remember fire."

"Fire?" Sheppard gazed confusedly at him. "I remember his arm being on fire…kinda…"

"No, not that!" Ronan insisted. "Something else, in the background, watching."

"Have you talked to Teyla?" Sheppard cocked his head to one side briefly.

Ronan nodded. "She said she saw something too."

"Great…"

* * *

Daniel stared blankly at his computer screen. He had been working on the translation for hours, and hadn't gotten very far. The language was hard to decipher and it was driving him crazy. That and the fact his best friend, for all intents and purposes, was a Dragon. Granted he didn't look like one, but he tended to act like one at times. Territorial, threatening, growling and all other sorts of normal Jack stuff that he hadn't realized before.

But, the one thing that had always stood out in his mind was the uncanny sense of people Jack seemed to possess and in hindsight, he knew why. It was eerie the way he had read them during that poker game. He knew that Jack had a good memory, when he chose to actually use it, but that was just plain weird. Jackson supposed he could put it down to the fact that he had know them for so long, but even that seemed shallow. It was almost like he read their minds.

No, Daniel thought, that would suggest he knew our hands. He didn't, he just was guessing. Because of our emotions…Daniel dropped his pencil with a clatter. He could read emotions, whether he knew it or not! That was a startling fact that made Daniel stop dead in his tracks. Jack wasn't who he used to be, no matter how much he said he was. He was different. Changed.

The thought sent a stab of pain down too his stomach. He wanted to believe he knew this knew man with superpowers, but all it was, was an act. He didn't know Jack at all, and he was fooling himself to think he ever did.

"Daniel?" Jackson looked up startled to see the object of his not-so-happy-thoughts standing in the doorway. "Are you okay?"

Daniel covered a wince. "Yeah, Jon, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine." O'Neill walked farther into the lab. He glanced at the things lining the shelves. Daniel didn't like the image inducer that he was wearing, it made the stark reality that his friend really was gone that much more real. He pierced Daniel with a look. "What's wrong? Why do you look like someone just died?"

"I'm fine!" Daniel snapped. "Look, I've got work to do! Now if you'd just-"

"Daniel!" O'Neill interrupted. "I know you--you're hurting--what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Daniel insisted stubbornly, refusing to acknowledge the pain inside of him. "Now, just please go away and let me finish!"

"No!" Jack argued back. He glared at the workaholic archeologist. "You're no closer to deciphering that then you were two hours ago!"

"So!" Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Jack belligerently. "Doesn't mean I can't keep working on it, does it!"

"It's says: "Today is the day for all. The harvest has come, our god will be pleased." Daniel stared open mouthed at O'Neill. Jack continued, oblivious of the look. "Now, that you know what it says, why don't you go grab some sleep?"

"Ja-Jon," Daniel corrected quickly. "How did you know what it said?"

"It's similar to Furling, and that's beside the point!" he stopped Daniel from arguing further. "You need sleep. This is proved by the fact that you haven't been able to figure this out yourself. Now, Go. To. Bed!"

Jackson looked fit to protest again. "Ah!" Daniel felt something pull tighter inside of him. It sounded like Jack, but it wasn't him. The pain inside intensified.

"Daniel?" Jack asked softly. "Danny…what's-what's wrong?" He stepped closer to his friend. "Why are you hurting?"

"Just go away!" Daniel snapped angrily. "God dammit Jack! Leave me alone!"

O'Neill's eyes widened, then hardened, no emotion left in them. "Fine." He ground out. Turning on his heel and storming out of the lab he knew for certain that were was something wrong with SG-1, big time. And he was going to find out even if it killed him, which from what he saw, was an extreme possibility.

* * *

Finally an update! I've been in the process of moving from Florida to Utah so I haven't had time to update. Anyway, here it is fron Utah!


	17. Surprise!

Ha ha! I've done it, posted another chapter, finally! Oh, be warned chapter 18 is the last part I have written!

* * *

"A being made of fire?" Dr. Weir asked again. "You're positive you saw this?"

"It was almost like a shadow." Teyla replied. "It seemed to shimmer then leave."

"It had white eyes." John spoke up suddenly. He glanced around the table at his teammates. "It's sneered, kinda like Cavanaugh, then vanished."

McKay rolled his eyes. "You couldn't possibly have seen a 'being' made out of fire! It's scientifically impossible!" He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, feeling smug. Ronan cast him an exasperated glance.

"I know what I saw." Ronan answered back. "I don't know what it was but I saw it."

Oma hovered in the shadows merely watching their debate in stunned silence. How an Ori had managed to get to Pegasus was lost on her, but the fact that it had managed to get there was a startling fact. It seemed that they had fallen into a bubble complacency that had just been burst. It was like a splash of ice-cold water on your face. They were in trouble now that much was sure.

The council had to revoke the Outcast's punishments if they were to survive this. They needed them to fight.

* * *

"You cannot possibly believe this?" Jaylen exclaimed, his sharp blue eyes scanning the members of the council. "The Ori are not in the Pegasus Galaxy! They do not even know where it is!"

"I heard what they said Jaylen!" Oma argued back hotly. "Ronan Dex, Colonel Sheppard and Teyla Emmagen all caught sight of the fiend! It was there!"

"Human's minds are fallible!" Jaylen countered smugly. "They could merely have been 'seeing things' as they say."

"And our minds are not?" Desalla asked softly. "I wish I could believe were are perfect, but I myself am living proof that we are not."

"Desalla." Oma turned to see Draco enter the large council chamber. He turned to address the council of twelve members sitting in an impressive semi-circular seat. The blue lights and colors danced off his white skin as he walked slowly into the middle of the chamber. "I understand that this is an Ancient matter, but my pup was the one who undoubtedly attracted the Ori, and for that I am truly sorry."

Kynan watched from the jury booth silently. He'd come to like the high-strung human. The man was a mass of energy that just couldn't sit still, much like himself at times. He had a weird sense of humor that breathed life into millennia of the same jokes and people. If Draco continued along the route he was now, O'Neill might find himself in 'deep shit' as he liked to say.

"Now, I cannot take back my mistake, but I can say that we needed those stones." Draco walked along the edges of the circle in the middle. "If they had fallen into Ori hands then we would be at a serious disadvantage."

"What, exactly, do these stones do?" Kynan asked, his curiosity overriding protocol.

"They control the elements." Draco answered. "I do not need to remind you that the Ori make themselves of fire."

There was a strangely stunned silence in the large room. The council members were talking softly to each other, and Kynan and Katrina were sharing worried glances from across the room. If the Ori were in the Pegasus Galaxy, things were going to get ugly. They would most definitely need the Outcasts help. Only the council was too prideful to admit that they had done something wrong.

"Draco." Katrina called softly. "Perhaps your pup might be able to locate the Ori that has stranded himself in Pegasus."

"I would not doubt it." Draco smiled softly. "I will speak to him and see what his answer is. Though I fear this is happening at an inopportune time."

* * *

Patrick O'Neill glanced up quickly when he felt a brush of air across his face. Setting his cutting knife carefully on the cutting board he walked into the living room of the cabin. The fan wasn't on. Strange, he thought to himself. As he turned to go back into the kitchen he felt the breeze again, this time stronger. Stopping in his tracks he stood stock still, assessing the situation like Jack had told sometime ago.

"Ego otium." Patrick said softly. "I am peace."

"Libertas nam omnis." The wind whispered back. "Freedom for all."

"For here we are to make peace and freedom." Patrick answered his voice wavering. This was the code that Jack had taught him, which meant whatever was in the cabin with him was a friendly, he hoped. "Please, show yourself." The air in front of his shimmered then became bright white light. Shielding his eyes Patrick watched as the light began to take a shape and the brightness diminish.

Patrick watched as the Ancient took on a familiar form. He stared at the woman before him in shock. It was Katrina. His Katrina! "God!"

She smiled softly at him. "I am sorry, Pat. I couldn't come sooner."

"So why are you here now?" Patrick's voice was hard, his eyes like ice. She had no right to come back here and screw up his life again! It was bad enough she left him before, with a child to care for, but now she was back seemingly like nothing had happened. "Why come back after all this time?"

"I needed to." Katrina replied. "I know you have been told about Jack."

"What happened?" Concern for his son overriding any anger at her for the moment. "Where is he?"

"He's fine, Pat." Katrina reassured quickly. "I promise you he's fine."

"Don't call me Pat!" Patrick snapped. "Look, why are you here? And quit dancin' around the issue!"

"Remind you too much of Jack?" Katrina asked, her eyes calculating. "Or of who I used to be?"

"Both." Patrick admitted softly. He looked into her eyes, his own shining with unshed tears. "Why are you here? To torment me with what I can't have?"

Katrina winced and looked away. Would it be so hard to admit that she needed to see him? That because of watching Jack she felt a longing in her soul that she hadn't felt in a long time? Would it be too hard for him to accept after she had done all she could to push him away when she returned to the realm of the ascended?

"No." Katrina raised her eyes up to his. "That's not why I'm here."

"Then why?" Patrick's voice cracked. "You pushed me away, you hurt me, and now you want me back? You want me to forgive you? Is that it?"

Katrina nodded mutely. She knew this would be a long shot at best. Besides the fact that she had something to tell him, she just had wanted to see his face again, hear his voice. Not just watch their son run around saving the galaxy. He was always destined for great things, they both knew it. What they didn't know was exactly what he was destined for.

"I…Patrick…" Katrina stopped. "Perhaps you should just meet him."

"Meet who?" Patrick's tone was somewhat hurt still. "You replaced me in your heart already?"

"No!" Katrina exclaimed in shock. "How could you think that?"

Patrick looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry, I just…" He glanced back up at her. "Who do you want me to meet?"

"His name is Kynan." Katrina said softly. As if on cue, the air shimmered and another light appeared. It took the shape of a young boy of about seventeen. His eyes were green, like Katrina's but his hair was the color that Patrick's used to be. He smiled shyly, but didn't move from his spot behind Katrina.

"Why am I here again?" Kynan asked softly.

"I'd like you to meet someone." Katrina nodded her head towards Patrick. "His name is Patrick O'Neill."

"O'Neill?" Kynan's face brightened. "As in Jack O'Neill?"

Patrick smiled. "Yeah, he's my son." He pulled his gaze away from Kynan to give Katrina an enquiring look. "So? Who is he?"

Katrina fidgeted nervously where she stood. Did she really want to go through with this? Is this how she wanted things to go? Or was there something else that she needed to do first to make him see what she was about to say more clearly? The thoughts that spun around and around in her head were confusing. It was hard to think at a mile a minute, and she knew where Jack had gotten it, and she wondered how he could do it which such ease when all it did was confuse her.

Kynan watched as Katrina struggled with something inside of herself. She seemed to be doing it a lot, he noticed. She always seemed to be battling some inner demon, and it was usually when O'Neill was around, which led the young Ancient to believe it had something to do with the Dragon pup. He had been stunned when he learned of who O'Neill really was. It was shocking, because most of the Ascended and the Council hated him with a passion.

The Outcasts loved him though; he was everything they stood for. It was a scary mix in a time of war. Division among the ranks was not a good thing. It was one of the biggest advantages the Ori had over them. They were not divided, they fought as one and it showed. He had to admire them for that. It was the one quality that they couldn't master, the one thing that eluded them. Unity. That one small word means so much.

"Katrina?" Patrick entreated. He gave her a pointed look that said 'well get on with it!'.

"Kynan is…" Katrina stopped, unsure of how to continue. Could she really do this? Could she really tell him this? "Your son."

"What?" Kynan and Patrick exclaimed in shock. They shared a brief glance then Patrick went on. "You can't be serious, Katrina! Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Yes, pray tell!" Kynan snapped angrily, unconsciously imitating his older brother. Patrick winced at the inflection, as it brought a new reality to the situation.

"I do not need to explain how, you should know that aspect!" Katrina replied snappily. "I was hit by a car, Patrick. If I hadn't left he would be dead and so would I. Is that what you wanted? Is it what you want?"

"Wait-wait!" Patrick waved his hands around in a gesture for her to stop. "Why now? I mean I learned three weeks ago that my son wasn't dead and that he had been living on another plain of existence with his own kind! Now I have to deal with you, with this! You can't possibly expect anything from me!"

Kynan glared angrily at him. "Hey! I do exist here! And according to _her_," Kynan gestured wildly at Katrina, "I'm your son! And you're going to treat me as a-a-a thing? A problem to be solved?"

"No, I-" Patrick stalled to a halt. He glanced around the cabin, looking for something, anything to give him the answers he wanted. "That's not what I meant, Kynan, I'm sorry." The Young Ancient sent him a forgiving glance. "You're not a thing, or a problem to be solved then stashed away."

Kynan swallowed hard, then nodded. He understood. It was a shock to him too. "Hey, wait a minute…am I a Dragon?"

Katrina let out a small chuckle. "No, Kynan, you're not." His shoulder's sagged in mild relief.

"So, that makes O'Neill, my half-brother then, I guess…right?" He cast his confused gaze over at Patrick. The older man shrugged. He was as much in the dark as the young Ancient was.

"No, he's your brother." Katrina answered. She locked eye with the young man standing next to her. "You'll understand all of this in time, do not worry yourself over it."

"In the mean time," Patrick cut in, "Why don't we get a hold of Jack and explain all of this to him?"

"Not a good idea!" Kynan said immediately. "Not a good idea at all. He doesn't need the added stress of this, of what it means."

"He's right." Katrina agreed softly. "With all of the duty we have placed on his shoulders, his friend's troubles, and the fight inside of himself, he does not need this to add to his burden."

Patrick nodded silently. He had been thinking the same thing since he heard of the war with the Ori. When Jack had shown up on his doorstep that fateful day he had realized something. He had realized that maybe Kate, as she had told him her name was at first, was not all she said she was. That perhaps, maybe she was more. That maybe, she wasn't as dead as he thought she was. And, now, he knew he'd been right.

* * *

Wow, I hadn't originally planned to go in this direction, but I couldn't resist, so here it is! Drop me a line and tell me I went way over the top and completely ruined a semi-good story.


	18. Identity Crisis

Ha ha! I've finally done it! I've posted chapter 18! This is the last of all my written and diced chapters so understand that the next will be ahile, savvy? Good. Now get on wit' readin' this mess, you scurvy dogs!

* * *

O'Neill glanced around the Spartan quarters he would be occupying for the next two weeks. It was longer than Draco had wanted, but it was better to go in covert than just Shifting in and letting the Ori know that they were onto him. That wouldn't be good, at all. He would attack Atlantis, or worse, send the Wraith there. Covering his wince, O'Neill, now disguised as Dr. Jon Anderson made his way to the engine room, the place where he knew the Deadelus' resident Asgard, Hermoid, would be.

The little Asgard needed to be informed as to what was going on. He knew Thor was, but as Hermoid was in Atlantis most of the time, he was behind on some details. Keeping his thoughts from drifting to far into the Ori mess, he navigated his way around unfamiliar hallways. It may have looked like Prometheus, but the lay out was entirely different.

Jumpingswiftly into the quickly closing elevator, O'Neill stumbled right into Colonel Sheppard. The Colonel looked at him with something akin to shock on his face. Jack raised an eyebrow in challenge, but the Lt. Colonel chose to keep silent.

"Uh, you're Dr. Anderson, right?" Sheppard asked carefully, his eyes boring into O'Neill temple. "Have I we met before? Because I gotta tell ya, you seem awfully familiar…"

"I don't think we've met…?" O'Neill left the sentence open, prompting Sheppard to continue.

"Sheppard, Colonel Sheppard." John supplied. "Are you sure? I mean I coulda sworn-"

"Trust me," Jack interrupted snappily, "we haven't met. I'm sure I would have remembered someone as annoying as you."

"Hey!" Sheppard protested just as the doors opened and Jack walked out of the elevator car. He knew the rumors would be all over the ship later, and he knew that once Sheppard and himself got back to Atlantis, the rest of his team would be after him. Possibly Weir too, but he doubted it. His hair was longer and he had a different accent, plus, he was wearing Earth clothing, so he doubted she'd recognize him.

At least, not right away.

After getting lost two more times in the hallway he finally found the engine control room, it was empty except for Hermoid and Dr. Novak. From Daniel's description of her, she was an excitable person who got the hiccups a lot. Hiding a smirk he walked noisily into the room, making his footsteps echo. Dr. Novak looked up, her eyes filled with curiosity, and Hermoid merely regarded him with a set expression.

"Um, hi." Dr. Novak swallowed hard. "I'm Dr. Novak and you are…?"

"Jon Anderson." O'Neill answered with a disarming smile and slight English accent. Hermoid's eyes widened slightly, and his head titled a little to one side, the classic Asgard pose for: 'I'm curious, please explain'. "Uh, I came with SG-1."

"Oh." Novak looked around the room for a moment then turned back to her console.

"Uh, Hermoid, right?" Jack tested the name out on his tongue. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Hermoid nodded and motioned for him to follow to the secondary room, which was empty. O'Neill shut the door and turned off his cloak, startling the Asgard.

"O'Neill?" Hermoid sounded gob-smacked. "We thought you had died."

"Uh, well, I'm kinda confused on those details myself so I won't get into that." He looked around to make sure they were absolutely alone. "Listen, Hermoid, how up to date is your information on the Ori?"

"I am several months behind, O'Neill." Hermoid answered regretfully.

"Then what I'm about to tell you will come as a bit of a shock…."

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Wow." O'Neill muttered as they approached the rather large planet that was home to Atlantis and her crew. Jack watched from the back of the bridge as they slowly drifted down and docked on one of the cities many landing pads. The city looked magnificent as they looked out of the main front window at it. Jack had to drag Daniel away from the viewer in order to get him off of the ship.

When they arrived in the ring room, O'Neill noticed that Hermoid was coming down with them. He didn't think the little Asgard would help them and apparently he was wrong. Cool. He could also see Colonel Sheppard giving him warning looks. Daniel had noticed and gave O'Neill a questioning one of his own, to which Jack just shrugged.

The rings came down around them before Daniel could speak and they found themselves standing on a landing pad looking up at a beautiful city. The mid afternoon sun was shining down on the city, lighting up it's windows and making the walls shine like mirrors. Jack wondered how a race like the Ancients that he knew could have created this place. They were fighting over everything now-a-days, and Draco was just about ready to cut them out of his plans.

"This-it's-wow!" Daniel could barely string two words together; his eyes were moving a mile a minute and he was trying to take in everything at once. The other SG-1 members were doing so at a more subdued pace however.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Sheppard cast a look at O'Neill, who he knew as Arian Drell. "The Ancients really knew what they were doing when they built this place."

O'Neill could have bottled the pride in his voice and sold it. "Sure looks like they did at any rate."

"Anderson?" Carter asked carefully.

"Nothin', it was just a stray thought." Jack placated her. As far as he knew, the Ancients had built Atlantis. As they walked through the hallways of the Ancient city, O'Neill felt something inside of him come alive. Suddenly he stopped, it was like a thousand voices rushing into his head at once! He couldn't hear beyond the noise that was like a waterfall, cascading into his mind.

"God!" He let out a strangled moan. "Be quiet!" Suddenly all the noise ceased. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself on his knees, bent over at the waist. Rubbing his pounding temples he let Daniel and Teal'c help him onto to shaky feet.

"Jon?" Daniel gave him a concerned glance. "What happened?"

"I-I-don't know." O'Neill looked over at Sheppard. "It was like a thousand voices in my mind."

"Static." Sheppard answered the implied question. "I heard static in my head for weeks when we first came here."

Hurried footsteps broke the stunned silence and Rodney McKay came barreling around the corner, his body language and his face indicating that he was piss off about something.

"What did you touch?" He gave Colonel Sheppard a furious glance. "The entire city just went haywire!" Suddenly he stopped when he set his eyes on SG-1, in particular O'Neill. "Drell? What they hell are you doing here! What did you do?"

"Drell?" Colonel Caldwell began to take interest in the conversation. He looked the man he knew as Dr. Anderson, up and down quickly. "He doesn't look like and alien, Doctor."

"Well, he's human." Sheppard threw in.

"No he's not!" McKay argued. "You remember what he did on that planet! You did see how fast he moved, Sheppard! Then, his eyes, don't even get me started-"

"So, I won't!" Jack snapped. "I don't know who you're talking about but you have the wrong guy."

"No, we don't." O'Neill looked behind McKay to see Teyla and Ronan standing there. He winced. Ronan continued. "I remember you, Drell. You took those stones right out from under our noses. Then you disappeared in a blue light."

"What stones?" Mitchell asked, putting in his two cents worth.

"They were clear blue, and there was seven of them sitting on a dais." Sheppard answered for him. "We had to solve a riddle to get to them, then Drell's arm began to glow, I touched it, it burned my hand. Ronan shoved me aside and then Drell went nuts. He got angry, grabbed the stones and left."

"Don't forget his eyes!" McKay wouldn't let the matter drop. "They were inhuman, solid black!"

"This is a nice tale," Jack interrupted, "but I'm not this Drell guy. I'm from England, I moved to the states when I was fifteen with my parents. I've never been off-world until now."

"He's right." Daniel backed him, knowing what was at stake if they didn't get this particular line of questioning stopped.

"I do no think so." Teyla stated calmly. "He is able to 'teleport', he could have gone back to your planet and created this story."

"But, I didn't!" O'Neill exclaimed frustrated. "I have never left Earth!"

"Perhaps we should continue this fruitless discussion another time." Hermoid interrupted. "We have other, more important things to do and discuss than argue over ones identity."

O'Neill sent Hermoid a silent thank you and Sheppard and his team dropped that particular line of questioning, for now. He knew it wouldn't last, but that didn't really matter. All he had to do was find the Ori and dispatch him, then he was gone.

* * *

Well, that is all the chapters I have written, I haven't had much time to write lately, I've been busy! I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but keep an eye open.


	19. What Have We Been Thrown Into?

It's bloody amazing! Chapter nineteen! Whoohoo! Read on folks!

* * *

Kynan raced quickly through his dimension and to Atlantis. He had to get there and warn O'Neill. His life, and that of Katrina and Patrick depended on it. If he did not reach him in time they both could be dead, and that would not be a good thing, not at all. He couldn't believe that the Ori had attacked the cabin, and without warning as well.

He had just suddenly appeared out on the deck where they had been enjoying each other's company. Before Eilyanna could do anything he grabbed Patrick and Katrina and was gone. Eilyanna had ordered him to Atlantis and said to be there yesterday, so he left as fast he could possibly go. The stars sped by him and dashed madly to the place he needed to be.

He had to make it before the Ori that was there found O'Neill, because if he did, things could get out of hand extremely quickly. It was bad enough O'Neill was at Atlantis, it would make the Ancient DNA inside of him, and the city, go haywire. Draco knew this and it was mostly likely why he approved of the plan. He thought O'Neill was ready to learn the truth that he had two weeks ago.

Suddenly, after a three hour journey he was too Atlantis. He could see the masquerading O'Neill and his team in the infirmary, along with the others who beamed down from Deadelus. He watched as O'Neill looked into the corner of the room, where he stood hidden. The Dragon Pup knew he was there, no surprise to him. Kynan watched as O'Neill studied him harder.

"Ego otium." O'Neill said softly, making Daniel and Carson give him a strange look. "I am peace."

"Libertas nam omnis." Kynan responded, his voice like a whisper. It made everyone in the room stop what they were doing and look into the corner of the room. "Freedom for all."

"For here we are to make peace and freedom." Jack answered confidently. The air in the corner shimmered and Kynan appeared, startling the others in the room watching. "Kynan."

"O'Neill." Kynan answered. He glanced around at the stunned faces staring back at him.

"O'Neill?" Sheppard's voice was incredulous. "Who the hell is this guy?"

O'Neill had stifle a chuckle. He reached to his watch and turned of the cloak. Sheppard's jaw dropped and McKay stuttered, unable to find his voice. Colonel Caldwell, Weir and Beckett looked at him, eyes wide like saucers with disbelief.

"You died." Sheppard mumbled. "Everyone heard about it…"

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." O'Neill answered smugly.

"Major General Jack O'Neill?" Dr. Weir said in awe. "I don't understand, from the reports…"

"You are Arian Drell?" Ronan asked, his face showing his awe.

"Yeah, and Dr. Jon Anderson." O'Neill took a deep breath. The only people left in the room was the main Atlantis staff, Caldwell, and Hermoid. "And Draco and Eilyanna's right hand man."

"Slightly more than that Jack." Kynan interrupted, bring O'Neill's attention back to him. "But that is beside the point. I've come with some very unpleasant news."

"What?" O'Neill asked tentatively, worried by the expression on Kynan's young face. "What happened?"

"The Ori have Patrick and Katrina." Kynan answered softly.

"What?" Jack jumped off of the bed; making Carson take a quick step back. "How the hell did they manage to pull that one off?"

"That's the problem!" Kynan exclaimed, his stance radiating confusion and anger. "No one can figure it out! Besides the fact that there is an Ori here in Atlantis, they now have your father and my mother!"

"Oh shit." Sheppard breathed out. "You mean to tell me that the shadow we saw on that planet was actually an Ori…"

"You saw it?" Jack questioned, his eyes almost solid black with anger. "It was there with me and I didn't even know it?"

"Apparently." Teal'c supplied. "It would seem we have been 'hoodwinked' O'Neill."

"Nah, ya think?" Jack exploded, his eyes going completely black. "Kynan, we have to go!"

"Wait!" Carter called out. "What about us? The Ori here?"

"Think about it, Jack." Daniel continued. "If you leave he could find his way back to our galaxy and bring reinforcements back here. We have to find him."

Kynan nodded in agreement. "I know, and that is what Eilyanna wanted as well. We have to find the one here first, then we can look for Patrick and my mother."

"God dammit!" O'Neill shouted at no one. He began pacing back and forth, occasionally running his hands vigorously through his hair, making it stand on end. "This cannot be happening! It just can't!"

"What do you plan to do about it?" A voice floated out of nowhere. It had a bone chilling quality about it. And O'Neill immediately recognized the voice. Shaakren. "Because, we are already here O'Neill."

"No." Kynan whispered. "No!"

"Get the hell out of here, Shaakren!" O'Neill roared. Daniel watched as a white blue glow began to surround his friend. The group watched as a being of fire shimmered into view. Its eyes were white, slanted, circles and its mouth was white light set in a sneer. "You leave or I'll make you!"

"You couldn't even begin to fight me O'Neill!" Shaakren gloated. "You must remember the last time? It was mommy to the rescue for you!"

"Not this time." Jack voice was deadly. It sent a chill down their spines. "Tell me where Patrick and Katrina are and I _might_, and I stress the word _might_, spare you."

The glow around O'Neill began to get steadily brighter and Kynan began to usher the group to as far away from the pair as he possibly could. There was a sound like a roar and then a blinding flash of light. A blood curling howl followed and suddenly Jack and the Ori were gone.

"Oh my god!" Weir was stunned. "What have we been thrown into?"

"I don't know," Daniel answered softly, he noticed that Kynan was gone as well, "I don't know."

* * *

Shaakren jumped up and out of the way of a beam of blue energy. He sneered and charged at the source, he missed as O'Neill ducked and rolled forward, spinning around to face him. Shaakren cocked his head to one side and flew at him again, this time striking his intended target, sending O'Neill flying into a tree. The mainland of Atlantis was empty except a small camp to the west, and Shaakren knew that was why O'Neill picked this place as a battleground.

Jack groaned and pushed himself upright. He staggered forward, trying to clear his head. He couldn't believe he had survived that hit, and he didn't think he'd make another one. "That the best you can do Shaakren?" He taunted, dusting off his hands and pants. He looked behind him at the felled tree and still couldn't believe he was standing. He should not have survived that, and glancing over at Shaakren, the Ori obviously thought so too.

"Do not be fooled O'Neill!" Shaakren roared from his place in the sky. He flew around in a large circle, the fire trailing after him slowly beginning for form in his wake. O'Neill put his hands out in front of him as the fire came hurling towards him so fast that he could barely see it. It hit his shield with incredible speed and sent his spiraling back wards to land roughly on the forest floor.

"For you shall soon be dead!" Shaakren finished his thought, landing ten feet from O'Neill's prone position on the floor. The Ori stalked towards him and Jack struggled to get up, but he wasn't quick enough as Shaakren grabbed him by his lapels and held him a good three feet off the ground. "I will kill you and then your friends, the Ancients, and those Dragons will be dead and all of the universe will belong to me!"

Shaakren let out an ear-piercing howl and flung O'Neill into a tree twenty some odd feet from where the Ori was standing. The last thought he had was that Shaakren was about to kill him and that he had failed, again. The last thing he saw was Shaakren's sneering face as everything faded black.

* * *

Yeah, I know, short fight sequence, oh well, live with it! Anyway, I have one more chapter, chp. 20 to post then I'm gonna have to write some more so it may be a while on the update for that. But, I shall do everything in my power to finish this story, even if everything I write ends up being crap and I have to delete it.


	20. Vala to the Rescue!

Well, this is a chapter that has been burning a hole in my harddrive for a while so I thought I'd post it. This is the last scrap of stuff I have written for this story and don't expect any more after this. Fair warning.

* * *

Patrick shook the bars of his cell again, but they still wouldn't budge. He, and the newly descended Katrina, were stuck in some backwater planet in the Ori's home universe. The town had apparently had visitors of the strange sort before; they were left alone in their cell, only seeing a townsperson when they brought them their food and water twice a day.

The fact that they were dressed in Earth clothing probably didn't help the villager's views of them any, if at all. It only seemed to make them more wary of them, and it drove Katrina crazy. He had yet to figure out why though, unless of course she knew where they were, which was a probable conclusion, given the fact that she had been Ascended for over forty years.

"Katrina." Patrick took a deep breath and prayed for patience. "Would you sit down and stop pacing for a moment? You're making me dizzy and are about to wear a hole in the floor!"

"Sorry." Katrina sat down stiffly next to Patrick.

"Good." Pat said softly. "Okay, now, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Yes, unfortunately." Katrina answered. "Daniel, and his 'friend', Vala, were here once. They used the Ancients' communication stones to contact the people here, only it didn't go as planned. Instead they let the Ori know that our home galaxy was still intact. It is the whole reason Jack is doing what he is doing."

"Because Daniel got curious?" Patrick said in disbelief. "If he and Vala hadn't used the stones the Ori would still be oblivious of our galaxy?"

"Yes." Katrina breathed out softly.

"I resent that!" A voice from outside of their cell called. "It was entirely Daniel's fault, not mine."

"Vala?" Katrina couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "How did you get here!?"

"Long story." Vala sidestepped the question. "But, I'm here to get you out."

"How exactly do you plan to do that?" Patrick asked, his skeptical nature taking over for a moment.

"By taking out the wall you're leaning on!" Patrick heard the sound of a click and grabbed Katrina by the arm and yanked her back. The wall blew out causing them to cough on the smoke. Patrick saw a woman with black hair, and a funny white highlight in the middle step into their once cell. "Well, now, isn't that better?"

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Patrick muttered. He followed Vala out of the cell, Katrina not to far behind him. "Do you even know if there is a Stargate around here? From what Jack told me, you have to have extra power to dial another galaxy!"

"I found a power source if that's what your wondering." Vala answered. "But I haven't found a Stargate, no."

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Well, I figured you'd know a way out of here!" Vala argued back. "If I had found a Stargate I would have been gone a long time ago!"

"Kids!" Katrina interrupted. She glared at the two of them. "I know a way out here."

Vala looked smug and Patrick looked down right pissed off. Katrina winced at his expression but kept on talking none the less. "There is a ship we can use to get to the only Stargate that goes to Earth in this galaxy."

"All roads eventually lead home." Patrick muttered darkly. "Lead on, McDuff."

* * *

O'Neill groaned and rolled over onto his side. Blinking repeatedly to clear his vision he slowly pushed himself up right. He was sitting in a dimly lit cell. It was damp and cold in the little stone pen and he wondered how in the hell he had gotten there, and why did his whole upper body hurt like a bitch? They seemed reasonable questions, to him at least.

He glanced around the little cell again, but still didn't see anything but damp stonewalls. He looked up at the ceiling and saw the exact same thing, big surprise, he thought ruefully.

"Hello?" He called out carefully. He looked towards the wall in front of him, hoping that it hid a door, but didn't see anything but a solid wall. "Hel_lo_!" He called out sharply, his voice rising towards the end. "Hey! Let me the hell out of here!"

Suddenly the air in front of him shimmered, a man made of fire appeared in front of him, his white light eyes held something in them that he couldn't quite catch. Its mouth was set in a taunting sneer however, and he realized the emotion in the eyes was smugness. "So glad to see you have awoken, O'Neill."

"Yes, well, considering where I am now, I'm not." Jack shot back, the memory of the last few hours coming back in a sudden rush. "What do you want, Shaakren?"

"So direct and to the point. Did Eilyanna teach you that?" Shaakren taunted. His eyes held a dangerous glint to them as he walked around O'Neill in a slow circle. "Though, I don't suppose it matters now. You are mine!"

"Oh, really?" O'Neill scoffed. "Maybe if you say that enough times in a row, you might just believe it!"

Shaakren let out and angry roar and flung his arm out at the human. It hit O'Neill square in the jaw and he went spiraling into the wall that had suddenly moved to about twenty feet away. He hit the wall with a loud thump; his body fell to the floor in a pain filled heap. Damn if that didn't hurt! He thought with a grimace. Jack let out a low groan as he pushed himself back to his feet.

His eyes locked defiantly with Shaakren's. It was going to take more than that to convince him to break. Way more.

"Nice try, Flame Head." O'Neill taunted. "If that's the best you can do, you might as well go get me a beer."

Shaakren's eyes narrowed to almost slits. "You will break O'Neill, and then, I will kill you, putting you out of your misery!"

"Such a nice thought." O'Neill smirked. "But, no deal I'm afraid."

"Then tell me," Shaakren's head cocked to one side, "how is it that you should be dead, yet you are not?" O'Neill looked at him confused. "Ah, yes, I have forgotten. _She_ has not yet told you."

"Who hasn't told me what?" Jack pushed away from the wall to stand in front of the Ori.

"Eilyanna has not told you the whole truth O'Neill." Shaakren gloated, his eyes glinting in the dim light of the cell, which was now mostly lit by the cast off of fire.

"The whole truth about what?" O'Neill scoffed. "You?"

"No," Shaakren smirked evilly, "you."

THREE HOURS LATER

"How much farther are we supposed to walk?" Vala asked, kicking another stone across the old beaten forest path. "My feet are getting tired."

"Not much farther." Katrina said for what felt like the thousandth time.

"You said that thirty minutes ago!" Patrick pointed out angrily. "Are you lost? And please, tell the truth!"

"I'm not lost, Pat!" Katrina snapped. "We have to pass a stone pillar, which is just around this bend. Then, in the small clearing there is a ship we can use!"

"Okay, okay!" Patrick held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry! Geez…"

Vala rolled her eyes, but kept on walking behind the warring pair. She had yet to understand why they wanted to rip each other's brains out, but it probably had to do with Katrina's Ascension, at least, she thought it did. It could be more though. She heard a name thrown around a lot, Kynan. Though, it meant absolutely nothing to her, she knew from the arguments, that he was their son.

Then…she thought carefully, so is O'Neill…only he hasn't a clue…Vala's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then she stopped. Patrick turned around and gave her a funny look. Katrina soon joined him.

"You didn't tell him?" The thief's expression was classic. "O'Neill has no bloody clue he has a brother?"

"Er…well-no." Patrick stuttered out. "But, the thing is…we were going to tell him, right before we got nabbed."

"I don't understand you." Vala turned on Katrina. "You were floating around gaining the ultimate 'Enlightenment' and you couldn't spare a moment for your family?" Katrina's expression looked pained. "Now, don't misunderstand me here, I would never want a family of my own, too much responsibility. But I don't understand why you turned your back on your own blood."

Patrick's glare was added to Vala's; he wanted the answer to this question as well. "Katrina?"

"I don't know why, dammit!" Katrina snapped angrily. "I have no god dammed clue, okay!?"

"But, see, that's where you and I disagree!" Patrick yelled back. "I think you do!"

"Then I can't help you!" Katrina angrily replied. She turned on her heel and stalked off, causing Patrick and Vala to have to jog to catch her before they were left behind.

* * *

This chapter 20 and is most likely the last chapter of this story I will ever post. If someone around here wants to continue it for me I might consider that. I'll e-mail you the outline for what I wanted to write. Drop me a line if you're interested. Thanks, Jon'ic.


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